2023-11-25 11:37:15
After 48 days in captivity, 24 hostages held in Gaza by Hamas were freed as part of an agreement between the Palestinian Islamist group and Israel.
Among those released are 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and one Filipino who were handed over to the Red Cross, which took them out of Gaza through a border crossing with Egypt.
LOOK: Israel and Hamas exchange prisoners and hostages on the first day of truce since the start of the conflict in Gaza
For its part, Israel freed 39 Palestinians – 24 women and 15 teenagers – who were in Israeli prisons and who were taken to the West Bank, where they were received by a crowd.
In Israel, hundreds of people were excitedly awaiting the arrival of the hostages, who were kidnapped by Hamas militants on October 7 during a surprise attack on Israeli territory in which 1,200 people died and 240 were taken hostage.
Following the agreement reached this week between Hamas and Israel, the radical Islamist group will release 50 hostages during a 4-day ceasefire that came into effect this Friday, the first since October 7.
Israel, for its part, will release 150 Palestinian prisoners, most of them women and young people.
The hostages were in good health, according to the Israeli government. (Archyde.com).
Daniele Aloni and his 6-year-old daughter Emilia were kidnapped on October 7 while visiting their family at Kibbutz Nir Oz.
During the attacks, the last message that Daniele sent to his family said that “there were terrorists in his house” and that he was afraid of not surviving, according to the Forum of Hostages and Missing Relatives, an organization that is monitoring the situation of the hostages.
Daniele Aloni and the girl Emilia were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. (HMFF).
Margalit Moses, 78, is a cancer survivor. She was also kidnapped by Hamas militants at Kibbutz Nir Oz.
According to the Forum, Moses is a nature lover who loves hiking, despite her health problems.
She is also known for constantly knitting vests and sweaters for her grandchildren.
Margalit Moses is 78 years old. (HMFF).
Adina Moshe, 72, was forcibly removed from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, after her husband Sa’id Moshe was killed in the Hamas attack.
She was identified by her family in a video in which she was seen between two Hamas fighters on a motorcycle.
He has four children: Maya, Yael, Sasson and Amos.
“He will be able to return to help raise his grandchildren who live in the kibbutz and resume his hobbies: cooking, growing plants and reading books,” the Forum said.
Adina Moshe, 72 years old. (HMFF).
Doron Katz Asher, 34, and his two daughters, Raz Asher (4) and Aviv Asher (2), were also released.
They were taken hostage when they were staying with relatives near the border with Gaza.
Doron’s husband, Yoni, saw a video of his wife and daughters being loaded into a truck along with other kidnapped people. He also said that he had managed to trace Doron’s phone to Gaza.
Doron Katz Asher and his two daughters, Raz Asher and Aviv Asher. (YONI ASHER).
The Munder family has only received three of its four kidnapped members.
Ruth Munder (78), Keren Munder (54) and her son Ohad Munder (9) were handed over to the Red Cross. However, there was no news about Avraham Munder (78), Ruth’s husband.
The family was also kidnapped in Nir Oz, according to Israeli authorities.
Avraham Munder was not released. His wife Ruth did. (HMFF).
Channah Peri (79) was kidnapped along with her son Nadav Popplewell (51), reported Ayelet Svatitzky, Channah’s daughter.
Ayelet was talking to them on the phone when armed men burst in. She said that the captors sent photos of her two relatives with armed men in the background. Nadav was not released in this exchange.
Channah Peri is 79 years old. (HMFF).
Hanna Katzir (76), another of those released, had been seen in a hostage video released by the militant group Islamic Jihad on November 9.
In it, she is seen sitting in a wheelchair while addressing the camera. She was kidnapped in Nir Oz, along with her son, Elad Katzir (47), but he was not handed over.
Hanna Katzir, 76 years old. (HMFF).
Yafa Adar (85) was also kidnapped in Nir Oz and released in the first exchange.
Her granddaughter Adva found a video showing her being taken to Gaza, surrounded by four armed men.
Yafa’s grandson, Tamir (38), who was defending the kibbutz as part of Nir Oz’s emergency squad, was also taken to Gaza, but there was no news of him this Friday.
Yafa Adar is 85 years old. (Archyde.com).
10 Thais and one Filipino
A spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, which has been part of the negotiations between Hamas and Israel, reported that in addition to the 13 Israeli citizens, ten Thais and one Philippine citizen were also released.
They were taken to a Tel Aviv medical center to check their health condition.
Previously, Thailand’s prime minister said Hamas had freed 12 of its citizens, but there was no immediate confirmation of their names.
Palestinian prisoners
As part of the agreement, 24 Palestinian women and 15 adolescents were also released this Friday from Israeli prisons.
They were taken to the West Bank, where hundreds of people greeted them with joy.
Mara Baker was arrested in 2015, when she was 16, and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for attacking a border police agent with a knife.
“This agreement comes after the death of many people. This makes us unhappy,” he told the press.
Baker arrived at his mother’s home in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem.
The Palestinians were imprisoned for various crimes, from stone throwing to attempted murder. Some had already been convicted, while others were awaiting trial.
With Qatar’s mediation, Israel agreed to release a total of 150 Palestinians from prisons and allow a significant increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Some 60 trucks with medical supplies, fuel and food entered the besieged Palestinian territory from Egypt this Friday.
Palestinians celebrated the arrival of 39 Palestinians, several of them teenagers. (Archyde.com).
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