THIRTEEN more Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas and reunited with their family members after nearly 50 days of captivity.
Israeli Defence Forces say four Thai hostages have also been freed by the terror group.
Emily Hand, nine, and Hila Rotem, 12, being walked to the Red Cross van by Hamas[/caption]
A hostage is checked while being handed over by Hamas militants to the Red Cross[/caption]
The second release of hostage was almost delayed by Hamas over alleged violations of the truce deal[/caption]
The released hostages’ convoy made its way through Egypt to the meeting point at Kerem Shalom late Saturday night where security representatives checked a list of names.
They have now returned to Israel, according to Israeli military.
New photographs show a number of the hostages released from Gaza on Saturday, including nine-year-old Irish-Israeli Emily Hand, at the Rafah crossing where they were handed over by the Red Cross to Israeli authorities.
Emily had her ninth birthday while being held captive.
In one picture she is seen sitting beside her dad Thomas Hand along with 12-year-old Hila Rotem, who was also freed Saturday and whose mum is still a hostage in Gaza.
The other Israeli women and children released on Saturday are: Sharon Avigdori and her daughter Noam, siblings Alma and Noam Or, Hila Rotem, Shiri Weiss and her daughter Noga, Adi Shoham and children Yahel and Naveh, Maya Regev, and Shoshan Haran.
Twelve hostages were taken to Sheba Medical Centre and one, 21-year-old Maya Regev, to the nearer Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba, as she was in need of urgent medical treatment.
Maya, who was released without her 18-year-old brother Itai, is now in a stable condition, the Times of Israel reports.
Their mother Mirit Regev said: “I am excited and happy that Maya is on her way to us. Along with that, my heart is split in two because my son Itai is still in Gaza in Hamas captivity.
“I am going to hug Maya so, so hard, but we will not stop until Itai and all the hostages come home.”
Israel’s Prisons Service confirmed it released 39 Palestinian prisoners – all women or minors 18 and under – from Israeli jails after the hostages were set free.
The terror group said earlier today it would delay the release of 13 more hostages over alleged violations of the truce deal by Israel.
Today is the second day of the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel – where the parties had agreed to exchange 13 Israeli civilian hostages for 39 Palestinians kept in Israeli prisons.
An Israeli official reportedly said this evening that the temporary ceasefire in place since Friday would end if Hamas did not release the second group of hostages by midnight.
The terror group had claimed it delayed the release of hostages because only 65 vehicles filled with humanitarian aid had reached northern Gaza since the ceasefire began on Friday.
Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said this amount was “less than half of what Israel agreed on”, the BBC reported.
A senior Hamas official further alleged Israel flew drones over southern Gaza, killed two Palestinians in an area of Gaza where civilians are free to move, and made changes to an agreed list of Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Israel denied violating the terms of its truce deal with Hamas, and an Israeli source told AFP: “Israel has not violated the agreement.”
Both Israel and Hamas later confirmed the second release of hostages under the truce agreement would go ahead Saturday night.
Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said at a press briefing in the evening that “significant progress” had been made in efforts to release the 13 hostages following delays by Hamas.
He said: “The effort to return the hostages is our moral and ethical duty. We are determined to fulfil this in any way.
“The effort tonight is progressing and we will inform the families and the public when things happen. Patience is required.”
He added that “nothing is final until it actually happens” as Israel is indirectly negotiating with an “evil terror group”.
The spokesman continued: “We will return the hostages in any way, through the deal, or through the next stages of the war.
“If the agreement is not fulfilled, we will go back to fighting.”
Hamas said in a statement it “upholds their appreciation towards Egypt and Qatar for ensuring the continuation of their temporary truce with Israel”..
Meanwhile,the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an assessment of the situation this evening, with all security elements in order to verify that the second phase is proceeding as planned.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said eight children and five women would be among the 13 Israeli hostages released on Saturday night, along with seven foreign nationals.
Four Thai nationals – whose names have not been released by Israeli authorities – were freed from Hamas captivity.
The first group of hostages being released by the Hamas brutes were reunited with their families on Friday evening.
Onlookers watched as 13 women and children were pulled from blacked-out vans by masked Hamas militants and passed over to Red Cross workers.
Hamas has agreed to free at least 50 of the 240 hostages it snatched on October 7 over the coming days in exchange for 150 Palestinians being kept in Israeli prisons.
Both sides said they would release women and children first.
The truce-for-hostages deal was reached after weeks of intense negotiations – with Qatar, the United States and Egypt serving as mediators.
A total of 24 hostages were freed from Gaza during the first day of the truce, including 13 Israeli women and children, 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino. No British civilians were released.
A mother and daughter were among the 13 released on Saturday[/caption]
One hostage walks on crutches as she is escorted by Hamas to members of the Red Cross[/caption]
A Red Cross vehicle carrying hostages abducted by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack on Israel arrives at the Rafah border[/caption]
The Israelis were released as part of a hostage-prisoner swap deal[/caption]
Ohad Munder, nine, was one of the Israeli civilians let go by Hamas thugs during the first hostage release on Friday[/caption]
All 13 Israeli hostages were sent to separate hospitals across Israel and, according to medical staff, appeared to be in good physical health.
Several were sent to Schneider Children’s Medical Centre where they were finally reunited with family.
Heartwarming footage released by the children’s hospital showed the moment nine-year-old Ohad Munder saw his dad for the first time in seven weeks.
He was snatched by Hamas terrorists on October 7 – when militants stormed the border and slaughtered over 1,200 innocent civilians – along with his mother Keren and grandmother Ruth.
The clip showed him carrying a cuddly toy, turning a corner in the hospital, and waving to two relatives including his father.
Ohad ran to greet them as his dad picked him up and spun him round in a touching reunion.
The nine-year-old boy’s cousin said: “I’m waiting to see Ohad and can’t wait to give him his Rubik’s cube which I know he really loved and he probably missed it so much.
“That’s the first thing he takes everywhere he goes.”
Five-year-old Emilia Aloni, who was kidnapped along with her mother, was pictured reuniting with her grandmother.
Yaffa Adar, 85, who was snatched on October 7 and seen riding on the back of a Hamas buggy, was also released.
Her granddaughter Orian Adar said their family was “very excited” to see her.
She said: “Her resilience moved us very much, it’s inspiring.
“We ask everyone to remember, we can’t see the sun yet because there are many more people still out there.
“We need everyone with us at home, don’t stop until the last abductee comes home to us,” Sky News reports.
Yoni Asher – whose wife Doron and daughters Raz, four, and Aviv, two, were kidnapped by the Hamas brutes last month – was finally reunited with his family on Friday.
Their four-year-old daughter said: “I dreamt that we were going home,” to which her father replied: “We are home, we are going to our house soon.”
More hostages are expected to be released over the coming days during the pause in fighting.
If the ceasefire holds, it will mark the first significant break in fighting since Israel declared war on Hamas seven weeks ago.
Gaza has been relentlessly pummelled by Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations in recent weeks.
Much of the northern part of the Strip has become a devastated warzone with ruined buildings, dwindling supplies, and horrific suffering for Gaza’s people.
By the Red Cross’ estimates, some 1.5million civilians have been forced to flee south amid the Israeli onslaught from land, air and sea.
Figures for the death toll remain unverified – but Hamas’ health officials have claimed more than 11,000 civilians, including more than 4,500 children, have been killed.
Israel disputes these figures and US President Joe Biden said he had “no confidence” in them.
Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israel had “not been successful” in reducing civilian casualties, but said the deaths must be blamed on Hamas, not Israel.
He insisted Israel’s mission remains unchanged and its offensive will resume once the ceasefire period ends.
The Israeli PM said: “We are at war and we will continue the war until we achieve all our goals.”
After the first hostage release on Friday, Netanyahu said: “I emphasise to you, the families, and to you, the citizens of Israel: We are committed to returning all our hostages.
“This is one of the war’s objectives, and we’re committed to achieving all of the war’s objectives.”
An IDF spokesperson claimed around 215 hostages remained in Gaza.
The Red Cross convoy initially took the released hostages into Egypt on Saturday[/caption]
Hostages give a thumbs up as they are handed over by Hamas militants to the Red Cross[/caption]
Emily Hand, nine, was released on Saturday[/caption]
Emilia Aloni, five, pictured reuniting with her grandmother on Friday after she was snatched with her mother Daniel on October 7[/caption]
Category: News, World News, Israel Hamas war
