Israeli official says Hamas will free 3 Israelis and 5 Thai nationals in next hostage release
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli official says Hamas will free 3 Israelis and 5 Thai nationals in next hostage release.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli official says Hamas will free 3 Israelis and 5 Thai nationals in next hostage release.
More than 150 female prisoners were raped and burned to death during a jailbreak last week when fleeing male inmates set fire to a prison in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a United Nations spokesperson has said.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service confirms reports that Kim Jong-un’s battered forces have been off the frontline since mid-January
Kim Jong Un sent roughly 11,000 soldiers to join Vladimir Putin’s troops in November last year
Hamas released three Israeli hostages on Saturday, the fifth group freed under a fragile Gaza ceasefire, with Israel condemning their "cruel" handover and worrying physical appearance.With Israel expected to release 183 prisoners in exchange, AFP journalists in the occupied West Bank saw a bus carrying freed Palestinians leave an Israeli jail and later arriving in the city of Ramallah.The fifth exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations are set to begin on a more permanent end to the war.It came after President Donald Trump floated a proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and clear out its inhabitants, sparking global outrage.Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, who were all seized by militants during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the 15-month war, "crossed the border into Israeli territory", the Israeli military said.Jubilant crowds in Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv cheered as they watched live footage of the three hostages, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in Deir el-Balah before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.But the joy of their release was quickly overtaken by concern for their condition, with all three appearing thin and pale.- 'No time to waste' -The choreographed handover included forced statements from the three on stage, in which they stated support for finalising the next phases of the Israel-Hamas truce."The disturbing images... serve as yet another stark and painful evidence that leaves no room for doubt -- there is no time to waste for the hostages! We must get them all out," said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group.The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose dejected-looking image appeared on a banner at the Deir el-Balah handover site, said that the images out of Gaza were "shocking".Israel's President Isaac Herzog denounced the treatment of the hostages who were paraded on stage, calling it "a crime against humanity"."The whole world must look directly at Ohad, Or, and Eli -- returning after 491 days of hell, starved, emaciated and pained -- being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murderers," Herzog said on X.Sharabi, 52, was at his home in kibbutz Beeri with his British-born wife and their two daughters when militants stormed it.The armed men shot their dog, before locking the family in their safe room and setting it on fire. The bodies of his wife and two daughters were later identified.Ben Ami, who has dual Israeli-German citizenship, turned 56 in captivity. He was abducted from his home in Beeri along with his wife, who was released during the war's first truce in November 2023.Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where gunmen murdered his wife.- 'Now is the time' -Former hostage Yarden Bibas, who was freed last week by Hamas militants in Gaza, on Friday urged Netanyahu to help bring back his wife and two children from the Palestinian territory."Prime Minister Netanyahu, I'm now addressing you with my own words... bring my family back, bring my friends back, bring everyone home," Bibas said in his first public message following his release.Hamas previously said his wife Shiri and his two sons Ariel and Kfir -- the youngest hostages -- were dead, but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government on Friday to stick with the Gaza truce, even as Trump's comments sparked backlash across the Middle East and beyond."An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home," the Israeli campaign group said in a statement."Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed -- until the very last one," it added.- Talks in Doha -Palestinian militants have so far freed 21 hostages in exchange for hundreds of mostly Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 11 more hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.Netanyahu's office said that after Saturday's swap, an Israeli delegation will head to Doha for further talks.The second phase aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war.During their October 2023 attack, militants took 251 hostages to Gaza. Seventy-three remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.Israel's retaliation has killed at least 47,583 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.bur-ami/ser
A released Israeli hostage told a Hamas crowd he hoped to see his wife and daughters after his release - suggesting he did not know they had been killed on 7 October.
On her first official visit to Lebanon, US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus on Friday said the US had drawn a red line against Hezbollah's inclusion in a future Lebanese government. Prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam has struggled to form a government amid political pressure from Hezbollah and its allies. The United States has set a "red line" that Shi'ite armed group Hezbollah should not be a member of Lebanon's next government after its military setbacks against Israel
Demonstrators at the proposed site included Hongkongers who fear it could be used to illegally detain dissenters
Three male Israeli hostages and 183 Palestinian prisoners were freed in the fifth round of exchanges between Israel and Hamas Saturday as Israel expressed concern about the appearance of the released captives.
A campaign group run by the brother of a pro-Palestinian MP helped organise a march through London that was planned as the Oct 7 massacre was taking place, The Telegraph can reveal.
None of Zawadi Sifa's seven children have known life without fear and the constant threat of violence. “Each time I give birth ... we are fleeing,” Sifa said as she rocked a baby, her youngest, in her arms. Several weeks ago, the M23 rebels — the most prominent among more than a 100 armed groups vying for dominance in the region — began their advance toward Goma, North Kivu’s provincial capital, in a major escalation of the yearslong fighting with government forces.
The three hostages are now back in Israel, whilst dozens of Palestinians who had been held in Israeli prisons have now returned to the West Bank.View on euronews
Hamas militants handed over three Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of the fifth exchange under a fragile Gaza ceasefire, with 183 prisoners held by Israel due to be released later in the day.- Talks in Doha - Palestinian militants, led by Hamas, have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.
The frail condition of the latest three Israeli hostages released by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday as part of the fragile three-weeks-old ceasefire agreement has raised concerns. Hamas handed over Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy to the Red Cross before they were transferred to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In exchange,…
Kyiv had indicated last week the North Koreans may have been withdrawn due to heavy losses in battle.
Bangladesh’s interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus said Friday it will contain vandalism and arson taking place across the country. The development comes amid concern from a major opposition party and neighboring India over attacks on a historic house linked to ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Mobs targeting supporters of Hasina have vandalized homes and businesses in various parts of the country since Wednesday night.
Weakened state of three freed Israelis shocks country, while several released Palestinians also need hospitalisation
Ukraine's claim came just days after South Korea's intelligence service stated that North Korean troops had been pulled back from the front lines.View on euronews
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (Reuters) -Leaders at an unprecedented joint summit of Eastern and Southern African blocs aimed at defusing the crisis in Eastern Congo urged all parties to hold direct talks, including with Rwanda-backed rebels whose advance has fanned fears of a wider war. In late January, the M23 rebels captured Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - the worst escalation of fighting in more than a decade that has left thousands dead. Despite announcing a unilateral ceasefire, they have continued to march south towards the city of Bukavu.
Israel and Hamas conducted a fifth exchange of prisoners and hostages Saturday as part of a ceasefire agreement that has paused 16 months of war in Gaza. Hamas released three civilian Israelis and Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners. It was the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19.
Three more hostages will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners