Yaakov’s release and the fate of the Israeli armed group that is Hamas’s enemy: The case of Yocheved Lifshitz
Hamas has said that it does not hold all the captives, raising questions about its ability to free everyone. The hostage video of Yagil Yaakov, the 12-year-old who was captured with his brother Or, 16 years old, was released by Islamic Jihad.
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was among just four hostages released by Hamas early in the conflict, described being marched into a network of damp subterranean tunnels under Gaza that she likened to “a spider web.”
They were among at least 30 children who were taken to Gaza during the Hamas assault on southern Israel. Their faces have appeared on signs at marches in Israel and on fliers posted in cities around the world. They have galvanized a nation at war and forced Israel to negotiate with Hamas, an armed group they’ve vowed to destroy.
According to White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, they expected the final list of hostages to include the release of two women and a child. But it wasn’t clear if they would be released in the first group on Friday.
“I am feeling like yesterday and the day before, only worse,” said Yael Engel Lichi, the aunt of Ofir Engel, a 12th-grader kidnapped on Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Be’eri while visiting his girlfriend.
The Israeli-Israel Interaction in the First Day of the September 11, 2001 Invasion of the Iraq Reaclave and the Second U.S.-Israel Agreement
Eylon Keshet said each one of them was a person, not a number. “Each one is a part of our lives and has dreams and ambitions.”
A 12-year-old forced to make a propaganda video for his kidnappers. A 9-year-old snatched while visiting a friend’s house for a sleepover. A 3-year-old whose last memory of her parents was seeing them both murdered. And an infant, now all of 10 months, who has spent about a tenth of his life in captivity.
About 240 people were abducted by gunmen that day. Some of the people who were gravely injured in the attack include infants and grandparents, peace activists and soldiers, Israelis and foreign nationals.
The second group eventually won out and led to the vote by Mr. Netanyahu early Wednesday, setting the stage for a truce and prisoner exchange that could begin this week. A senior defense official from the first group said that its members had changed their minds because the terms that Israel was able to obtain in the signed deal were significantly better than those that existed a week ago.
The head of Mossad, a foreign intelligence agency of Israel, argued in favor of a deal that was better than the others and that the invasion could go on after a brief cease fire, according to four senior security officials.
A group of Israeli leaders led by Yoav Gallant tried to delay the cease fire and release of hostages in order to swap 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for 50 hostages.
When it was all said and done, the deal to release some of the hostages held by Hamas came down to two critical phone calls ultimately forcing each side to make a tough concession.
As for Hamas, according to senior administration officials, its leaders were demanding that the pause in fighting incorporated into the agreement last five days, even though the Israelis refused to agree to more than four. The emir of Qatar was told by Mr. Biden that he would only get four for now.
The deal between the United States and Iran was a testament to the diplomacy and determination of many dedicated individuals across the US government, according to Mr. Biden. It is important that all aspects are implemented.
The White House was told about a possible deal to release hostages by the government of Qatari, a small gulf nation with close ties to the United States. The Qataris asked that a small group of U.S. officials work secretly with them and the Israelis.
Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, directed Brett McGurk, the White House Middle East coordinator, and Joshua Geltzer, then the deputy homeland security adviser who has since become the top lawyer for the National Security Council, to take the lead. Other agencies were kept in the dark about the initiative.
Mr. McGurk briefed Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Biden when he held early morning phone calls with the emir of the state of Qatar. Mr. Sullivan kept in touch with two of Mr. Netanyahu’s closest advisers.
Israel-Hamas Agreement for a Temporary Stop-Fire: An Insider’s Look at the Phenomenology
A deal between Israel and Hamas for a temporary cease-fire is expected to go into effect on Friday. Here is a closer look at the agreement, mediated in part by Qatar, and how it is expected to play out.
Each day of the pause, Israel and Hamas will receive lists of the hostages and prisoners to be released, with Qatar passing them between the two parties, according to Mr. al-Ansari. He said that the International Committee of the Red Cross would be designated to receive the hostages, though he gave no further detail on the group’s role or where the hostages would cross the border.
Israel would not fly over southern Gaza for the duration of the cease-fire, and it would not fly over northern Gaza for six hours a day during the cease-fire.
The official said most of the Palestinians being released from Israeli prisons will be taken by bus to their home districts. They did not know whether they, too, would be freed in stages, but the official said the first would be freed before any Israeli hostages.
The names on the list were described as being members of the security prisoners, people who had been arrested for offenses against national security. The prisoners are accused of a number of crimes. There are several attempted murder charges. The inmates on the list weren’t all convicted of the charges.
Israeli forces said on Thursday that they had detained the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya, for questioning “following evidence showing that the Al-Shifa Hospital, under his direct management, served as a Hamas command and control center.”
Palestinians and Palestinians gathered in a hospital after the kibbutz attack: How the Idan family prepared for their daughter’s arrival
And on both sides of the border, families of the captives waited with terrible trepidation, counting down the hours, hoping their loved ones might be among those released and that nothing at the last minute would go wrong.
The Idan family, who lost both of their parents during the attack on the kibbutz, were hoping to be able to celebrate their daughter’s birthday with her on Friday.
Tal Idan, her aunt, said that she was barely breathing after the agreement was announced. It feels like forever when the hour goes by.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where the Israeli military has been carrying out nightly raids, the siblings of Walaa Tanji, 26, began frantically preparing for her arrival when they heard she might be released from an Israeli jail. They brought family members and rented chairs to accommodate the crowds, having already had their hopes dashed the previous day.
The construction worker said in the phone interview that he will live in safety even if it is short and temporary.
Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that her organization was able to quickly scale up the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid in Gaza. She said that this was not enough to meet the growing needs of Palestinians.