Second group of Hamas-held hostages released after delay; cease-fire holds
Following a lengthy delay, a second group of Hamas-held hostages were freed following the release of an initial group of 24 hostages on Friday.
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Following a lengthy delay, a second group of Hamas-held hostages were freed following the release of an initial group of 24 hostages on Friday.
Emily Hand, 9, was released with the second batch of hostages to Israel on Saturday after 50 days of captivity in Gaza.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators say Hamas agreed to release 13 Israelis and seven foreigners on Saturday in exchange for 39 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Under the agreement reached in Qatar, Hamas is incentivized to release captives that Israel accuses it of seizing during its rampage across southern Israel.
The Israeli government said early Wednesday that it had approved a deal that would see 50 hostages held in Gaza released and a 4-day cease-fire observed.
Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry says Israeli forces are closing in on second facility in the Palestinian enclave as thousands evacuate Al-Shifa hospital.
Patients, staff and displaced people left Gaza's largest hospital, health officials said, leaving behind only a skeleton crew to care for those too sick to move.
"The national task before our eyes is to locate the missing and return the abducted persons home," the IDF said in a statement Friday.
Israel said the weapons and other items at Al-Shifa hospital were evidence of Hamas militants using Gaza's largest health facility for military purposes.
A cease-fire would be possible only if the more than 200 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address.
The top U.S. diplomat spoke after Israel agreed to daily humanitarian pauses in the fighting in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas claims an Israeli strike on Gaza's largest hospital killed at least 13.
Harrowing new video shows what the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims are conditions inside Al-Shifa hospital as Israeli forces pummel northern Gaza in what the IDF says is an effort to wipe out the Islamist militant group.
The possible cease-fire deal is being brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, a Persian Gulf country that mediates with Hamas, according to the Associated Press.
U.N. says 70% of Gaza's population has been displaced a month into the Israel-Hamas war, as Gaza officials say more than 10,300 are dead, almost half of them children.
Thomas Hand's daughter, initially thought dead, is now believed to be among dozens of children kidnapped by Hamas. A month later, he's surviving on "pure hope."
Hamas officials say the death toll is over 10,000 as Israel ignores rising calls for a cease-fire and Israeli troops surround the Gaza Strip's largest city.
Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said Israel supports a pause that would allow for the release of hostages, but said Hamas is not serious about releasing them.
"We believe that there are still a number of Americans inside Gaza," deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Sunday.
Over 400 people packed a North Miami Beach auditorium to hear from those who yearn for their loved ones to return home.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also reiterated Washington's long-standing support for the eventual recognition of a Palestinian state.
Across South Florida, people gathered to bring awareness and stood in solidarity with Israelis and Palestinians.
The president is under growing pressure from those who say Israel's bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment.
Foreign nationals continued to cross over the Rafah border crossing into Egypt for the first time since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
German-Israeli Shani Louk, 22, was among those killed by Hamas militants after they stormed a trance music festival on Oct. 7, her family has learned.
The Israeli military said Monday it had struck more than 600 targets in Gaza over the previous 24 hours as it stepped up its bombardments.
