By Abubakr Al-Shamahi and Kevin Doyle
Published On 25 Nov 2023
- 39 Palestinians and 13 Israelis welcomed home after being released from Israeli prisons and captivity in Gaza, respectively. Ten Thais and one Filipino were also released from Gaza and remain in Israel.
- Israeli Prime Minister’s Office says it has received the list of the captives to be released on Saturday, the second day of the four-day deal.
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11 UpdatesAuto updates
- 8m ago (01:40 GMT)Thai woman learns boyfriend believed killed on October 7 is among freed captivesA Thai woman who thought her boyfriend was killed in Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel has spoken of her joy at learning he is still alive and among the freed captives.Kittiya Thuengsaeng told the BBC that she recognised Wichai Kalapat in television images of the 10 Thai captives released from Gaza on Friday.“I’m so happy because I feared he wouldn’t be among those released,” she was quoted as saying by the BBC.“I want him to heal from any mental condition he may have first, then he can return to Thailand. Right now, I can wait for him. I’ve been waiting for so long, I can wait a little longer.”Click here to share on social media
- 18m ago (01:30 GMT)Captives are important, but not the only goal for Israel
- Reporting from occupied East JerusalemThe Israeli prime minister, along with the Israeli army, have been clear: bringing back the captives is not the only goal of this war. And while it is one they’re going to continue to try to achieve, the total eradication of Hamas is something they’re going to continue fighting for. So, after these four days, we can expect to see more fighting. While there is joy on both sides, there still is anguish because it is not the end of the war. Israel has vowed that its military operations are going to continue, despite the fact that there is a dire humanitarian situation that has unfolded inside the Gaza Strip. Click here to share on social mediaAdvertisementhttps://6ba4701949a1d9100669eb6a563aaefd.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.htmlhttps://6ba4701949a1d9100669eb6a563aaefd.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
- 23m ago (01:25 GMT)In address, Biden signals ‘green light’ for Israel’s continued war on Gaza after truce
- Reporting from Washington DC Ever since news of the deal was announced, the White House has been victory-lap leaking to select journalists who’ve communicated that the deal was the result of around-the-clock negotiations from the White House – and these are the points that Biden was hitting in his speech. There was an expectation that US captives would be in the initial batch of those released. That didn’t happen, and I think, perhaps, that wasn’t the expectation when they started taking those victory laps – at least through their anonymous briefings.[The speech] was boilerplate Biden ‘thoughts and prayers’ and concern about the trauma of Israeli women and children – no mention of Palestinian women and children who’ve been released. No mention of the Palestinian death toll.In fact, when he was asked about the Palestinian death toll, his response was simply: I’ve encouraged the Israeli prime minister to focus on trying to reduce the number of casualties while he’s attempting to eliminate Hamas, which is a legitimate objective.So, still giving Israel that green light to continue on once this ceasefire is over.
- 38m ago (01:10 GMT)Most Israeli captives freed on Friday appear in good health, hospital saysMost of the Israeli captives released by Hamas on Friday appear to be in good physical health, hospital officials have said.Schneider Children’s hospital said in a statement that four mothers and four children it received were assessed by doctors to be in good physical condition, according to the Times of Israel.Five other Israeli captives, all elderly women, were taken to Wolfson Hospital in Holon, according to the Times. Some of those are reported to be “feeble and exhausted” and unlikely to be able to return home tomorrow, according to local media outlet Ynet.In total, 13 Israeli captives were released on Friday and moved to three different hospitals across Israel.
source and more https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/25/israel-hamas-live-news-prisoners-and-captives-welcomed-home