Israel Defense Forces reveal new details about the 13 hostages released in Hamas swap
The Israel Defense Force said the released hostages were kept in the dark about the seven-week war that has claimed thousands of lives, while sharing new details about their condition.
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The 13 Israeli hostages released on Friday were oblivious to the extent of the October 7 massacre, which sparked the war between Israel and Hamas.
Major Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said the initial medical checks have showed none of the hostages had life-threatening injuries.
They are now being reunited with their families, but he said the mental impact is severe.
“The mental condition of these people is something that is going to have to unfold over long periods of time. They probably haven’t seen light in 50 days, they were snatched out of their beds in a hurricane of activity,” he said.
“I think for these 13 people, what you and I know, and the world knows, about October 7 and the extent of the massacre, these people don’t know. They don’t understand what actually happened and they have to come to terms with that along with their families, along with missing relatives. The process of healing here is going to take weeks, months, possibly lifetimes.”
Israel has received a list of the second batch of hostages slated for release on Saturday as part of a four-day ceasefire with Hamas.
The Times of Israel reports it will include another 13 names, but this time it will include more children than the four released on Friday.
It comes as dramatic footage shows the first thirteen hostages being released to the Red Cross, after being held captive for 49 days.
They were transported in ambulances from Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, towards the Rafah crossing and have now entered Egypt.
It’s the first time guns have fallen silent in the Gaza Strip in more than seven weeks.
The Red Cross confirmed an operation is now underway to “re-unite hostages and detainees with their families”.
Relief supplies have also entered Gaza, including 130,000 litres of fuel, as 200 trucks brought the largest shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza since the war began.
Israel has promised this will occur every day of the temporary truce.
Hamas also released 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino in a separate deal.
The 11 foreign nationals were taken to Shamir (Assaf Harofeh) Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov for evaluation by medical staff and the hospital reports they are well.
In return for the hostages, Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the developments mark important progress.
“Australia welcomes the release of hostages and the pause in hostilities to allow humanitarian access to Gaza,” he posted to X, formerly Twitter.
“We have consistently called for all hostages to be released, for the protection of civilian lives and for steps towards a sustainable ceasefire and a long-term, enduring peace.”
WHO ARE THE 13 ISRAELI HOSTAGES?
• Yafa Ader, 85.
• Channah Peri, 79.
• Hanna Katzir, 77.
• Margalit Mozes, 77.
• Adina Moshe, 72.
• Ruthi Mondar, 78; Keren Mondar, 54; and Ohad Mondar, 9.
• Danielle Aloni, 44; and Emilia Aloni, 9.
• Doron Katz-Asher, 34; Raz Asher, 4; and Aviv Asher, 2.
Yoni Asher, whose wife Doron and daughters Raz, 4, and Aviv, 2, were released today, posted on social media saying he won’t celebrate “until the last one returns”.
“There are people whose hearts are broken right now, and I want to make sure all the hostages return. The families of the hostages are not a poster or a slogan, they are real people, and from today they are my new family,” he said.
Itay Ravi, whose aunt Ruthi, cousin Keren, and nephew Ohad, 9, were released, told the BBC this was “one step towards being happy”.
Mr Ravi is anxiously waiting for news of his cousin Avraham, who is still being held.
“It’s still a very, very horrific reality that we’re in,” he said on Newsnight.
“We will continue to do everything until everyone is back because we know that we cannot be fully happy.”
All of the freed Israeli hostages are from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where a total of 75 people were abducted from the kibbutz on October 7, including 13 children.
BIDEN SAYS THERE’S A ‘REAL’ CHANCE OF EXTENSION
US President Joe Biden said it’s the beginning of a long journey of healing.
This morning I’ve been engaged with my team as we began the first difficult day of implementing this deal,” President Biden said. “It’s only a start, but so far, it’s gone well. “All of these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal, and this is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them.”
Mr Biden later said he believed there was a real chance the ceasefire could be extended.
“My expectation and hope is that as we move forward, the rest of the Arab world and the region is also putting pressure on all sides to slow this down, to bring this to an end as quickly as we can,” he told reporters.
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EXPLOSIONS HEARD AFTER CEASEFIRE BEGINS
At 7am local time (4pm AEDT) on Friday, the ceasefire began – but highlighting the fragility of the proposed four-day pause in hostilities, heavy bombardment and small arms fire could be heard literally two minutes before.
Sporadic explosions could be heard and a heavy pall of black smoke was seen on the skyline as the clock ticked over. But after 20 minutes the battlefield fell largely silent.
After an hour, a column of ambulances and other medical vans could be seen driving at speed from the border city Rafah into Gaza, with hundreds of semi-trailers with aid lumbering behind them to take advantage of the cessation in fighting.
The ceasefire is part one of a complex process to release hostages in waves over the next four days.
The breakthrough offers some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment as well as families in Israel and elsewhere fearful for the fate of their loved ones held captive since Hamas’ brutal October 7 assault.
THAI HOSTAGES RELEASED AS ISRAEL AWAITS 13
Thailand’s prime minister has said 12 Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas in Gaza have been released.
Srettha Thavisin said embassy officials were “on the way to pick them up” but did not specify where the hostages were located.
Earlier, Egyptian State Information Service released a statement that said: “Intensive Egyptian efforts resulted in the release of 12 Thai nationals.”
The Thai nationals’ release is not part of the deal between Israel and Hamas.
IDF’S WARNING TO GAZA AMID CEASEFIRE
A senior IDF officer has said troops will respond to any attempts of harm to its personnel during the ceasefire.
The unnamed officer said “anyone who poses a threat to our forces will be hit”, according to The Times of Israel.
“The security of our forces is a top priority, that’s how we behaved and that’s how we will continue to behave,” he said.
The officer went on to say the IDF is already preparing to resume fighting at the end of the ceasefire.
“We will use most of the time for the sake of readiness and planning the tasks expected of us immediately after the end of the truce,” he said.
“We are preparing to continue attacking with all our strength immediately after the end of the truce.”
TRUCE ‘CRITICAL’ TO ENDING ‘TERRIBLE ORDEAL’: SUNAK
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked “Qatar, Egypt and others for the intensive diplomacy that has got us here” in a message shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
“We will not stop until all the hostages are safe,” he said.
“This humanitarian pause is critical to end the terrible ordeal of hostages held by Hamas and get lifesaving aid into Gaza.”
This humanitarian pause is critical to end the terrible ordeal of hostages held by Hamas and get life-saving aid into Gaza.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) November 24, 2023
I want to thank Qatar, Egypt and others for the intensive diplomacy that has got us here. We will not stop until all hostages are safely returned. https://t.co/57ir5Tzfhf
‘WAR NOT OVER YET’: VOWS ISRAEL MILITARY
“The war is not over yet. The humanitarian pause is temporary. The northern Gaza Strip is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move north. For your safety, you must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south,” an IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said.
â•ï¸Watch this important message from the IDF Spokesperson for Arab media, @AvichayAdraee, to the civilians of Gaza:
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 24, 2023
â€The war is not over yet. The humanitarian pause is temporary. The northern Gaza Strip is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move north. For your safety,… https://t.co/OmtxDYHIK3pic.twitter.com/4gaJDxgy5I
FIRST OF HOSTAGES TO BE RELEASED
The anticipated release of the first of the 50 Israeli women and children came as Hamas reportedly also agreed to free a further 23 Thai nationals being held, without conditions, after a separate deal brokered between Bangkok and Hamas via officials in Iran.
But it will not allow the International Red Cross to visit those hostages, from the total 236 held, that are not part of both deals.
The first of the 50 hostages were to be released in exchange for 150 mostly Palestinian teenage boys overnight from the West Bank held in Israeli jails for stone throwing and other social unrest charges.
HAMAS VOWS NOT TO BREACH CEASEFIRE
Hamas’ armed wing al-Qassam Brigades assured it would not breach the ceasefire specifically for Gaza.
But in a televised address via Arab channels, Hamas called for an escalation of “resistance” elsewhere, notably in the disputed West Bank and by Hezbollah allies from Israel’s border with southern Lebanon.
“We call for escalation of the confrontation with the occupation throughout the West Bank and all resistance fronts” spokesman Abu Ubaida said in a video speech.
Israel also reminded its enemies and international negotiators the ceasefire only applied to Gaza and its war on militants elsewhere would continue.
‘FOR OUR BROTHERS IN GAZA’: AID TRUCKS BEGIN ENTERING
Aid trucks started entering the Gaza Strip from Egypt about 5.30pm AEDT on Friday, roughly 90 minutes after the truce started.
In the lead up to the ceasefire, a convoy of more than 200 trucks carrying water, food, medicines and 130,000 litres of diesel fuel and gas were on standby on the Egyptian border to enter Gaza to aid Palestinian civilians including the more than one million sheltering in UN camps.
Two of the trucks were sporting messages of “Together for Humanity” and “For our brothers in Gaza”, reports Reuters.
IDF TUNNEL NETWORK FOUND: IDF CLAIMS
There was intensive artillery shelling of Gaza by Israel in the immediate hours prior to the highly anticipated ceasefire of the seven-week war, with the Israel Defence Force (IDF) declaring it had found the tunnel network being used by militants.
The IDF said the underground network ran under the al-Shifa Hospital compound. The director of the hospital was arrested Friday with evidence militants had been using his sprawling medical compound and its electricity to power tunnels beneath.
The IDF ordered the 150 remaining patients and six medical staff to leave the hospital as it plans to level all suspected Hamas-used “terror infrastructure”.
All IDF tanks and troops will remain in place during the truce but be inactive.
ISRAEL RECEIVES ‘FIRST LIST’ OF HOSTAGE TO BE FREED
The Israeli prime minister’s office earlier in the day confirmed authorities were in contact with the families of all the hostages being held in Gaza after receiving “a first list of names” from Hamas.
A senior US official said earlier that three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan were expected in one of the wave of hostages to be released.
Such was Israel’s confidence the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner swap would hold for the full four days it had formally advised Hamas it had a list of another 150 other women and child Palestinian prisoners it could release in a proposed extension of the pause, in exchange for a second batch of 50 hostages. One of those is understood to be Shorouq Dwayyat who has been in jail nine years, arrested as an 18-year-old on her way home from school for allegedly attempting to stab a Jewish settler who tried to pull her niqab off.
The truce agreement raised international hopes of eventually winding down the war, which has levelled vast swathes of Gaza, fuelled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.
Originally published as Israel Defense Forces reveal new details about the 13 hostages released in Hamas swap
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