Israeli hostages reunite with family members after Hamas release – videoShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Live feedHamas says hostage handover delayed until Israel “adheres to agreement”The armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday it was delaying the handover of a second group of hostages as part of a temporary ceasefire deal until Israel “adheres to the terms of the agreement”, Agence France-Presse reports.
According to the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam brigades, the entry of aid into northern Gaza and the selection criteria for the Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were in question.
A Hamas source told AFP that the handover of 14 hostages to the Red Cross had begun, and then said the transfer process had been halted.
An Israeli official said the hostages had not yet been handed over to the Red Cross. “Israel has not violated the agreement,” an Israeli source told AFP.
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The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Saturday that it had successfully delivered humanitarian aid to the northern governorate of Gaza in what it described as the “largest convoy” since 7 October.
The convoy consisted of 61 trucks of aid assistance including food, water, medicine and emergency medical supplies.
🔴 The largest convoy of 61 trucks of aid assistance to the #Gaza and the North governorates loaded with food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies, from aid that entered through Rafah today as well as from PRCS warehouses in the… pic.twitter.com/NMrQqiYo2R
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 25, 2023Egypt is trying to resolve the delay in the second round of Israeli hostage releases from Gaza, a Palestinian official familiar with the matter who did not want to be named told Reuters on Saturday.
The delay comes as Hamas cited issues about the entry of aid into northern Gaza as well as the selection criteria of Palestinians currently detained in Israeli prisons.
Here are some images coming through the newswires of the pro-Palestine rally in London on Saturday where tens of thousands took to the streets to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where nearly 15,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes in the last seven weeks:
Protesters wave flags and banners as they take part in a National March for Palestine in central London on 25 November 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesProtesters march in solidarity with Palestine, demanding a ceasefire amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on 25 November 2023 in London, England. Photograph: Alishia Abodunde/Getty ImagesPeople take part in the National March for Palestine, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in Whitehall, central London, to call for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas on 25 November 2023. Photograph: Lucy North/PAMembers of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community hold placards as they take part in a National March for Palestine in central London on 25 November 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesProtesters holding placards and Palestinian flags take part in a National March for Palestine in central London on 25 November 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesProtesters holding placards and Palestinian flags take part in a National March for Palestine in central London on 25 November 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesHamas says hostage handover delayed until Israel “adheres to agreement”The armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday it was delaying the handover of a second group of hostages as part of a temporary ceasefire deal until Israel “adheres to the terms of the agreement”, Agence France-Presse reports.
According to the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam brigades, the entry of aid into northern Gaza and the selection criteria for the Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were in question.
A Hamas source told AFP that the handover of 14 hostages to the Red Cross had begun, and then said the transfer process had been halted.
An Israeli official said the hostages had not yet been handed over to the Red Cross. “Israel has not violated the agreement,” an Israeli source told AFP.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in London on Saturday to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where nearly 15,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in the last seven weeks.
According to Reuters, Saturday’s march was the latest large pro-Palestine demonstration to take place in London since 7 October.
About 1,500 police officers were deployed to the streets for the protest, including 500 who were brought in from outside London.
There were no immediate reports of violence at the demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition, Reuters reports.
“We come to show our solidarity and tell the Palestinians they are not alone, we are thinking about them and we are not gonna stop until they are free,” 25-year-old student Leila Talhi told Reuters.
Hamas delays second release of hostages until Israel lets aid into northern Gaza – reportsThe armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday that it had decided to delay the second round of hostage releases until Israel is committed to letting aid trucks enter northern Gaza, Reuters reports.
Earlier today, Israeli media outlets including the Jerusalem Post reported security sources saying that Egypt had received a list from Hamas of 13 hostages to be released today.
Here is some information about the 24 hostages released by Hamas on Friday, including 13 Israelis, one Filipino man and 10 Thai citizens.
The Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison reports:
The Israeli hostages included four children with female relatives, who had all been visiting family at Nir Oz kibbutz when Hamas attacked on 7 October, and five elderly women, four of them residents of Nir Oz and one from a nearby kibbutz.
The other hostages had been working in the area, part of a large migrant labour force doing caring, agricultural and other work inside Israel. They were not part of the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
For further details, click here:
SummaryHere is a round-up of the day’s main developments so far:
Egypt said on Saturday it had received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days, Reuters reports. Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement that the country was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement over extending the four-day truce, which “means the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
Israel’s Prison Service said on Saturday it was preparing 42 prisoners for release, suggesting Hamas would release 14 Israeli hostages, AP reported. There has been no official Israeli announcement on the number of hostages to be freed on Saturday, though Hamas handed a list of names to the authorities late on Friday. It was not immediately clear how many non-Israeli captives might also be released.
Egypt has received a list from the Palestinian militant group Hamas of 14 hostages to be released on Saturday, security sources said. Earlier on Saturday, Israel also said it had received a list of hostages to be freed from Gaza on Saturday by Hamas, Reuters reported.
Iran facilitated Friday’s release of 10 Thai hostages from Gaza, providing a list of names to Hamas after a request to do so by Thailand’s foreign ministry and parliamentary speaker, Iran’s embassy in Thailand said on social media on Saturday. “This request was accepted by Hamas and 10 Thai hostages were released after the ceasefire,” it said.
The second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has allowed critical humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and given civilians their first respite after seven weeks of war. The UN said the pause enabled it to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the resumption of humanitarian aid convoys on 21 October, Associated Press reports.
It was also able to deliver 129,000 litres of fuel – just over 10% of the daily pre-war volume – as well as cooking gas, for the first time since the war began. In the southern city of Khan Younis on Saturday, a long line of people with gas cans and other containers waited outside a filling station hoping to get some of the newly delivered fuel.
A Polish citizen was among hostages released from Gaza on Friday, Reuters reports. Poland’s foreign ministry confirmed the news in a statement: “We welcome the information about the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which allowed the release of the first group of hostages, including a Polish citizen, and increased supplies of humanitarian aid to the enclave,” the ministry said in a statement.
More than three dozen Palestinian prisoners returned home to a heroes’ welcome in the occupied West Bank on Friday after their release from Israeli prisons as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the Associated Press reports. The freed prisoners, some accused of minor offences and others convicted in attacks, were greeted at a checkpoint outside Jerusalem by a massive crowd of chanting, clapping, hand-waving and shouting Palestinians.
The body of a Tanzanian student who went missing in Israel after the bloody Hamas attack last month is due to be returned home on Sunday, his family said. Clemence Felix Mtenga, 22, was one of two Tanzanians reported missing after the 7 October attack that saw around 1,200 people killed and around 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
The US president, Joe Biden, said the chances were “real” that the temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire could be extended. He said Friday’s hostage release was the “start of a process” and that he “will not stop” until all remaining hostages in Gaza were brought home. The deal reached by Israel and Hamas involved “extensive US diplomacy”, Biden said, adding: “It’s only a start, but so far it’s gone well.” He also said he expected US citizens to be among the hostages who would be released.
Most of the Israeli hostages released by Hamas were said to be in good health after returning to Israel, the hospital receiving them announced. Schneider Children’s hospital, where four women and four child hostages were released, said doctors had conducted a preliminary examination and said they were all in in good physical condition.
A container ship managed by an Israeli-controlled company was hit by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, causing minor damage to the vessel but no injuries, Reuters reports a US defence official saying. The Malta-flagged CMA CGM SYMI, recently renamed Mayet, was struck on Friday by an unmanned aerial vehicle, which appeared to be an Iranian Shahed-136 drone, the official said.
In the UK, Metropolitan police officers are to hand out leaflets to demonstrators to provide “absolute clarity” on what will be deemed an offence, as more than 100,000 people are expected to join a pro-Palestine march on Saturday. More than 1,500 officers will be on duty in London as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) marches from Park Lane to Whitehall in protest over the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Met police said 500 officers from outside London would be on duty.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. My colleague Maya Yang will be along shortly to continue bringing you the latest news from the Israel-Hamas war.
Qatari delegation reportedly in Israel for talks over possible ceasefire extensionA Qatari delegation visited Israel on Saturday to discuss a possible extension of a four-day ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that started on Friday, an official briefed on the visit said.
The Qatari operations team also coordinated with Israeli officials to ensure the ceasefire and hostage releases continue smoothly, the official said.
More from that AFP feature:
Even for those whose loved ones have returned, the joy is tempered by the thoughts of others.
In a video released by the hostage families’ forum, Roy Zichri Munder, whose brother was released on Friday, said: “We are not in a festive mood today, we are happy but we are not festive because there are more hostages detained.”
He offered his support to those still being held. “You will be back soon,” he told them, urging their families: “Don’t lose hope.”
For most, the wait goes on.
Nadav Rudaeff has had no indication of life for his 61-year-old father, Lior, an ambulance driver and volunteer medic who had a heart attack two years ago.
“We are very concerned because he has no medicine,” he said.
Ruby Chen has also had no news about the fate of his son, 19-year-old soldier Itai, snatched while on duty protecting kibbutzim in the area.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling of not knowing if your kid is alive or not,” he said. “It’s something beyond pain.”
For days, the family did not know where he was. Their middle son was listed as “missing in action” until at 6am one day, two army officers knocked at their door.
Immediately they suspected the worst.
“That means someone’s going to give you a very bad message. Your heart stops,” he said.
“But we are the lucky ones: the notification we got was that Itai was abducted,” he went on, “not the other notification that many others got that day.”
There is a stark account of how the families of hostages are dealing with being parted from their loved ones published by AFP today.
It reads:
For some families, returning Gaza hostages bring ‘sign of life’.
When the first group of Israeli hostages was released from Gaza as part of a ceasefire, Noam Peri’s elderly father was not among them. But they brought with them news that he was still alive.
“We have a sign of life from my father, we know he’s alive from other people from the community who were released yesterday,” said Peri, whose 79-year-old father, Haim, was snatched from his home in Nir Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border by Hamas militants on 7 October.
Without giving details, she said she had received the news from some of the 13 people who returned to Israel on Friday, the first day of a four-day ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal with Hamas in which dozens of Palestinian prisoners were also freed.
All but one of the hostages released on Friday – among them six elderly women, three mothers and their four children – were from Nir Oz, one of the hardest hit communities when Hamas militants stormed across the border, killing around 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapping about 240 others.
Israel has responded with a heavy aerial campaign and ground invasion that has killed 15,000 people, including thousands of children, according to authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.
In Nir Oz, 75 people were abducted and 29 killed, Peri said. “So one out of four people from this community were either murdered or kidnapped,” many of them neighbours or lifelong friends of her parents, kibbutz veterans.
Hearing that her father was still alive has given the family fresh hope, but they have no guarantees he will be getting out soon, if at all – the hostages to be released under the ceasefire deal are women and children aged 18 or under.
“It brings a lot of hope but we don’t know how much time they’re going to be able to hold on there,” she said, describing her father as “a brave man but not a healthy man” who survived a heart attack and “depends on medication to survive”.
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