2nd group of Hamas-held hostages released after delay
A total of 17 hostages were released by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas after hours of delay on Sunday. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have moved the hostages into Egypt and are on their way to the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Israel. The Israeli army confirmed that these hostages included 13 Israeli citizens and four Thais.
Why does this story matter?
The development comes after the Palestinian terrorist group confirmed that it had handed over 20 hostages, including seven foreigners and 13 Israelis, to the ICRC earlier. During Hamas's October 7 cross-border attack on Israel, the terrorist group killed almost 1,200 Israeli civilians and took 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza, killing roughly 15,000 Palestinians. The four-day truce came amid widespread calls for a ceasefire.
Israeli PM monitored release of hostages from IDF control center
Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Benjamin Netanyahu monitored the operation of the second phase of the hostage release from the IDF Operations Branch control center in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu also received regular updates from the head of the operations department and spoke with the commander of the intelligence effort on the return of the hostages.
Visuals of Netanyahu, top Israeli officials tracking release of hostages
Know about Israeli hostages released by Hamas
Furthermore, the PM's office has released the details of the hostages released by Hamas. The list includes four members of the same family. Another hostage is nine-year-old Emily Hand, who was initially thought to have been among those killed during the October 7 attack in Kibbutz Be'eri. Hand was at a sleepover at a friend's home when she was abducted, The Times of Israel reported.
Here's list of Israeli citizens released by Hamas
Reason behind delay in release of hostages
The armed wing of Hamas earlier said it was delaying the scheduled second round of hostage releases until Israel met all truce conditions. As per Hamas Spokesperson Osama Hamdan, only 65 of the 340 aid trucks that entered Gaza since Friday had reached northern Gaza, "less than half of what Israel agreed on." However, the IDF said that the aid distribution was implemented by the United Nations (UN) and international organizations inside the Gaza Strip.
