Israel-Hamas war updates: Israel claims Hamas violated truce deal over hostage release
The release of hostages by Hamas has not gone entirely to plan, with Israel claiming unexpected developments will cause more misery. Follow latest updates. Warning: Graphic
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Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is claiming Hamas violated the terms of the truce by releasing a teenage girl without her mother.
On Saturday, 13-year-old Hila Rotem was freed without her mother Raaya Rotem despite demands from Israeli officials.
“They were supposed to not split families, but they released a teenaged girl and they kept her mother, Raaya, in captivity,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN.
When the IDF asked about Hila’s mother, Hamas claimed they did not know where she is, Conricus said.
“The daughter tells us that they were together up until two days before the release,” Conricus said, adding he believes Hamas kept Raaya Rotem to maintain leverage.
“They want to leverage each and every Israeli in their captivity for political pressure,” Conricus said.
Conricus said the IDF has indications that Hamas has been moving hostages during the truce period.
“Our security agencies are debriefing and asking questions and trying to learn as much as possible from these women and children,” he said.
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MORE HOSTAGES RELEASED
An American girl was among a third group of hostages released by Hamas with more Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange, as a source close to the group said it was willing to prolong a truce.
Israeli officials said a total of 17 hostages were now back on Israeli territory.
One of the elderly hostages is critically ill in hospital, the Israel Defence Force revealed.
Alma Avraham, 84, was flown directly to a hospital, while the remainder were transferred to Hatzerim Airbase.
“Alma, who was returned to us in serious condition, was immediately evacuated by helicopter to the hospital. She was evacuated by IDF troops while still inside Gaza,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
United States President Joe Biden announced that among those freed is four-year-old American girl, Abigail Mor Edan.
“She’s been through a terrible trauma,” Mr Biden said of Abigail, whose parents were murdered by Hamas militants in the unprecedented attacks.
“Today, she’s free, and Jill (Biden) and I, together with so many Americans, are praying for the fact that she is going to be alright,” he said.
“She is now safely in Israel, and we continue to press and expect for additional Americans will be released as well. And we will not stop working until every hostage is returned to their loved ones.”
I'm incredibly relieved to hear that Abigail Mor Edan has been released. She was the youngest American being held hostage by Hamas — she just turned four on Friday. Â
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) November 26, 2023
When I first met with her family a month ago, they told me the gut-wrenching story of how Abigail's parents were… pic.twitter.com/JaZZNrDnw1
Along with 13 Israelis, four others were released outside the terms of the truce – including one Russian-Israeli who Hamas said was freed “in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin”.
Those freed were among around 240 captured on October 7 when Hamas fighters broke through Gaza’s militarised border with Israel in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, killing about 1200 Israelis and foreigners, according to Israeli authorities.
The releases on Sunday local time bring the total number of Israelis freed under the deal to 39 since Friday.
In exchange, a further 39 Palestinian prisoners were freed on Sunday, the Israeli prison service said.
This followed the release of 78 other Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails over the past two days.
MUSK TO MEET WITH NETANYAHU, HOSTAGES FAMILIES
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will meet Elon Musk on Monday and emphasise “the need to act to combat rising anti-Semitism online,” the politician’s office said.
Musk, owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, has come under fire over what critics say is a proliferation of hate speech on the social media site since his takeover.
He has also been accused by the White House of “abhorrent promotion” of anti-Semitism after endorsing a conspiracy theory seen as accusing Jews of trying to weaken white majorities.
Herzog’s office said the meeting would be joined by “representatives of families of hostages held by Hamas, who will speak about the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, and of the ongoing pain and uncertainty for those held captive”.
“In their meeting, the President will emphasise the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online,” Herzog’s office said.
EMOTIONAL SCENES AS FAMILIES REUNITE
In the previous round of releases, there were smiles, kisses, and tears as Israeli hostage Sharon Avigdori, freed with her daughter Noam, 12, hugged her son and relatives at Sheba hospital, images from the government press office showed.
See video below.
Very emotional footage released tonight of the reunion early this morning of Sharon Avigdori and her daughter Noam, 12, reuniting with their dad/husband Chen and son/brother Omer after 50 days in Hamas captivity. pic.twitter.com/3KxWoMgQBr
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) November 26, 2023
Among the hostages freed late Saturday was 21-year-old Maya Regev, kidnapped by Hamas fighters in their deadly raid on the Supernova music festival along with her 18-year-old brother Itay.
“I am so excited and happy that Maya is on her way to us now. Nonetheless, my heart is split because my son Itay is still in Hamas captivity in Gaza,” their mother Mirit said in a statement.
More heartbreaking yet hopeful footage from earlier of Maya Regev, 21 - who was shot in the leg as she was kidnapped from the Supernova festival - reuniting with family at Soroka Hospital after she was released from Gaza.
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) November 26, 2023
She underwent surgery as is expected to fully recover. pic.twitter.com/1ZRy3dHWkT
Images also show Shoshan Haran, daughter Adi Shoham and grandchildren Naveh, eight, and Yahel, three, returning to Israel after 50 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER SEPARATED
Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, was among the hostages released from Gaza on Saturday after she was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
Her mother Raaya Rotem was also taken that day but was not among the names listed as released on Saturday.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum and Kibbutz Be’eri said Raaya is still being held in captivity and in doing so Hamas has violated the agreement not to separate a mother from her family.
TANKER SEIZED OFF YEMEN
A tanker linked to an Israel-affiliated company was seized off the coast of Yemen by unidentified armed individuals, a US defence official confirmed, following a series of incidents on the same shipping route.
“There are indications that an unknown number of unidentified armed individuals seized the M/V Central Park in the Gulf of Aden on November 26”, the official told AFP.
“US and coalition forces are in the vicinity and we are closely monitoring the situation”, the official added.
NETANYAHU IN GAZA
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his first visit to Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, telling soldiers there that Israel will continue until it wins.
“We continue until the end – until victory,” footage posted online by his office showed him saying during the visit on Sunday local time.
“Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will and the determination to achieve all the war’s goals, and we will.”
FIVE HAMAS LEADERS KILLED
The military wing of Hamas said that the commander of its northern brigade and four other senior leaders had been killed during Israel’s offensive against the Islamist movement.
In a statement, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said Ahmed al-Ghandour was a member of its military council, and named three of the others, among them Ayman Siyyam, head of its rocket division, while its West Bank branch confirmed another leader’s death.
LIST OF THIRD GROUP OF HOSTAGES RELEASED
The Israeli hostages freed are:
Elma Avraham – The 84-year-old artist was on the phone with a neighbour on October 7 when armed men burst into her home in Nahal Oz kibbutz at around 11am.
“There’s a terrorist in my house!” she told the neighbour.
Her son Uri Rawitz, with whom she had also spoken earlier, said Elma had not managed to lock the door to the safe room in her house.
Uri later received a photo of his mother being taken away on a motorcycle by armed fighters with another hostage.
Avraham’s second son, who also lives in Nahal Oz, escaped the attack.
Aviva Siegel – The 62-year-old was taken from her home in the Kfar Aza kibbutz along with her American husband Keith, 64, who is still being held.
At the time of the early morning attack, the couple grabbed their phone and took refuge in the safe room of their home, still in their pyjamas, according to their son-in-law Yuval Baron.
He told The Guardian newspaper they had thought it was just another rocket attack, but soon afterwards Siegel and her husband were seen being taken away with other hostages by armed men.
Schoolteacher Aviva was born in South Africa but moved to Israel when she was eight. The couple have four children and five grandchildren.
Hagar Brodetz and her three children – Avihai Brodetz said he was trying to defend Kfar Aza kibbutz when his wife Hagar, 40, and their three children were kidnapped.
Several days later he found out they had survived the attack but had been abducted along with Abigail, a neighbour’s child who had taken refuge in their home.
Ofri, the eldest child, marked her 10th birthday in captivity in Gaza. Her younger brothers Yuval and Oria are aged 8 and 4.
Abigail Mor Edan – After seeing her parents killed at Kfar Aza, Abigail, who holds US citizenship, took refuge with the Brodetz family, and was kidnapped with them.
Michael and Amalya, her brother and sister, escaped the attack by hiding in a closet.
Abigail had her 4th birthday in Gaza on Friday.
Chen Almog-Goldstein and her three children – A 48-year-old social worker, Chen Almog-Goldstein was kidnapped from Kfar Aza kibbutz with three of her four children: Agam, 17, Gal, 11, and nine-year-old Tal.
The children’s father Nadav Goldstein and Yam, the eldest daughter, were killed in the attack.
They are members of the family of Doron Almog, a former high-ranking army officer and current chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, a non-profit organisation that encourages Jews to immigrate to Israel.
Five members of the Almog family were killed in an October 2003 suicide attack on the Maxim restaurant in Haifa which was claimed by Hamas ally Islamic Jihad.
Sisters Ela and Dafna – Ela, 8, and her sister Dafna, 15, were abducted from their father Noam Elyakim’s home in Nahal Oz kibbutz.
The day after the attack, their mother Maayan Zin saw a photo on WhatsApp of Dafna “sitting in pyjamas on a mattress in Gaza with the comment ‘In prayer clothes it would be better’”.
The bodies of the girls’ father, his partner Dikla and her son Tomer were found riddled with bullets in an empty lot.
Before he was shot, 17-year-old Tomer had been told by militants to go door-to-door and speak in Hebrew to convince his neighbours to leave their shelters.
Ela and Dafna also hold Hungarian nationality, according to media reports.
Ron Krivoy – The 25-year-old Russian-Israeli worked as a sound technician at the Tribe of Nova music festival attacked by the militants.
Initially he managed to escape and hide in a ditch, his sister Julia told Israeli media, but by noon an Arab-speaking person was answering his phone.
The youngest of three siblings, Krivoy was born in Israel, and, according to his father, had survived two car accidents and a fall into a sewer.
Hamas said he was being released outside the truce deal with Israel, and “in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin and in appreciation of the Russian position in support of the Palestinian cause”.
HOPES FOR TRUCE EXTENSION
Joe Biden said the temporary halt in fighting was the result of “intensive US diplomacy” by himself and administration officials working with Israel, Qatar, Egypt and others.
The US president said he hoped to see the pause extended.
“That’s my goal, that’s our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza.”
The three-day-old truce “is delivering live-saving results,” Mr Biden added. “Critically needed aid is going in, and hostages are coming out.”
Mr Biden said he urged the pause in Israel-Hamas fighting be extended to allow for more hostage releases.
A source close to Hamas said the Islamist movement, which has an armed wing, was willing to extend the current truce for up to four days beyond its initial expiry date.
“Hamas informed the mediators that the resistance movements were willing to extend the current truce by two to four days,” the source told AFP.
“The resistance believes it is possible to ensure the release of 20 to 40 Israeli prisoners” in that time, they added.
JUST IN: President Biden announces that an American was among the hostages released today — and shares 4 year-old Abigail Edan’s story…
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) November 26, 2023
Then this proclamation ~ “We will not stop working until every hostage is return to their loved ones.†pic.twitter.com/FM9LUrQUnc
50 DAYS OF WAR
Tel Aviv marked 50 days of war with mixed emotions as the second round of hostages was released but prospects for extending the ceasefire beyond the four-day truce diminished.
In the previous second release of hostages, 13 Israeli women and children and four Thai were set free by Hamas in Gaza after an initial tense standoff for several hours with militants accusing Israel of breaching the fragile pause in the war.
The issue appeared to be of the 340 aid trucks allowed into Gaza only 65 made it north of the Strip which Hamas claimed was less than half than originally agreed.
But shortly before midnight local time the 17 hostages were taken by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Israeli authorities.
Among them were 38-year-old Adi Shoham and her children eight-year-old Neve and Yahel, 3, whose uncle Aviv Habaron was ecstatic to see his family but holding out hope other members left behind, including their father, would soon be released.
“So as happy as we are, and there is no one happier than us right now, we are still in the fight for the return of everyone as soon as possible,” he said.
FAMILIES SPLIT
The release has been something of a lottery with families among the initial 240 kidnapped by militants now split with some being released and others not.
There was confirmation 12-year-old Hila Rotem was set free but her mother Raya was not while siblings Noam and Alma Or were also released but their father not.
Also released was 21-year-old Maya Regev, the first hostage snatched from the desert rave on October 7, leaving behind her kidnapped brother and a friend who had attended the festival with her.
Irish-Israeli citizen Emily Hand, 9, whose family was initially told had been killed on day 1 of the Hamas horror during a sleepover in Kibbutz Be’eri before later confirmed alive, was yesterday also set free to her ecstatic family.
“We have been waiting for far too long for this moment,” her father Tom said moments before they were reunited.
“Every day has been a long and painful living nightmare. … my Emily is coming home at last, broken but in one piece.”
Most of those released were from Kibbutz Be’eri where Australian grandmother Galit Carbone was murdered by militants on October 7 and one of the hardest hit communities with 100 dead and 50 kidnapped.
Thongkoon Onkaew, the mother of a Thai hostage freed, said she was indescribably happy.
“My granddaughter called me at 5am saying my son was among the hostages released and I didn’t really believe it then she sent me the photo and I was like, ‘That’s my son! My son!’”
EIGHT PALESTINIANS KILLED IN WEST BANK
Eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank over the past 24 hours, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday.
The ministry said five were killed in Jenin during an Israeli military incursion into the city and its refugee camp.
One person was shot and killed in near Ramallah, two more were killed south of Nablus, early Sunday morning.
This brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops and Israeli settlers in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since October 7 to 240, with more than 2,959 injured.
THOUSANDS MARCH IN LONDON AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM
Thousands of demonstrators, some waving Israeli and British flags, marched against anti-Semitism through central London on Sunday, local time.
The protest came a day after large pro-Palestinian crowds took to the streets of Britain’s capital to demand a full ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The UK has seen a spike in anti-Semitic incidents since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel triggered the latest conflict in the Gaza Strip.
“The hate has got to disappear. You can’t have hate on either side,” 69-year-old retiree Michael Jennings told AFP, as the march began outside the Royal Courts of Justice.
Demonstrators, who were joined by ex-prime minister Boris Johnson, held posters that read “Zero tolerance for anti-Semitism” as they walked to parliament.
They also displayed photographs of Israelis and foreigners kidnapped by Hamas militants.
Omer Plotniarz, a 37-year-old music therapist, said he was so worried about anti-Semitism that he had not brought his wife and child on the march.
“We’re not here about hating people. We’re not here to shout for murder. On the seventh of October we woke up to a new reality and we are all traumatised by that,” he told AFP.
Plotniarz and other protesters wore stickers that said: “Our love is stronger than your hate.” “We just want to see our babies, our wives, our brothers, sisters, everyone back home,” Plotniarz added.
During Sunday’s march, organised by Campaign Against Anti-semitism, police arrested far-right agitator Tommy Robinson who had been told to stay clear of the demonstration.
Jewish charity the Community Security Trust (CST) has said that it recorded in the 40 days from the initial Hamas attack to November 15, at least 1,324 anti-Semitic incidents across Britain.
That was the highest-ever total over a 40-day period since it began logging incidents in 1984, and compares with 217 reported in the same period in 2022.
CROWDS RALLY IN TEL AVIV
In Tel Aviv an estimated 100,000 people rallied in support of those hostages freed and others left behind in a central square, unofficially renamed “Hostages’ Square” where families and friends have based themselves for weeks.
Among them was Alon Hadar whose grandmother Yaffa Adar was freed in the first wave on Saturday and said Israelis had become one giant family for all hostages.
“She gives us the hope that all will return, but we know we have to fight for the release of all,” he said.
A delegation of officials from Qatar had earlier in the day rushed to Israel – an extraordinary event since the countries do not have diplomatic relations – as it appeared the truce may not hold but now said there was hope the “momentum” of the second round of prisoner swaps – with 39 Palestinian prisoners and detainees also released yesterday – could extend the truce for another couple of days and perhaps longer term.
But not all were convinced.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, touring the silenced battlefield, said any further negotiations with Hamas would be done during “times when the bombs are falling and the forces are fighting”.
He said the hostages released so far only came from military pressure.
“When pressure is exerted – they want a ceasefire; when you increase the pressure – they seek another ceasefire; when you escalate further – they are willing to come up with a proposal, and when you increase it even more – they’re ready to offer something acceptable. That’s the whole approach,” he said.
Gazans were again warned not to return to their homes during the pause with the war far from over. There were unconfirmed reports two Palestinians were killed and 15 wounded trying to return to the north which remains in Israel hands, to look for lost relatives in the rubble.
– with AFP.
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Originally published as Israel-Hamas war updates: Israel claims Hamas violated truce deal over hostage release
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