IDF confirms the release of hostages held by Hamas safely back in Israel
Twelve individuals - ten Israeli citizens and two Thai nationals, who had been held hostage by Hamas - were released on Tuesday and are now safely within Israeli territory, as confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Several Egyptian rescue teams were present on site to receive the hostages.
10:46 AM EST, November 29, 2023
Hamas, operating out of the Gaza Strip, dispatched the freed hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The humanitarian organization facilitated the transportation of the released group through Egyptian territory to the Israel border using their own vehicles. The Israeli army has officially confirmed this information.
Majid al-Ansari, Spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provided additional details about the released hostages. Among the Israeli freed are nine women and one child. Interestingly, one individual has dual Austrian citizenship, and two others hold Argentinian citizenship as well.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu further revealed that two Thai nationals were also among those released by Hamas.
A video from the handover of the hostages freed by Hamas has surfaced on platform X:
The Qatari Foreign Affairs Spokesperson voiced his perspective on the situation, asserting that in light of Hamas' release of hostages, Israel plans to release 30 Palestinian prisoners later Tuesday. Among them are expected to be 15 women and 15 teenage boys.
Tuesday marked the commencement of a two-day ceasefire extension between Israel and Hamas. According to the agreement's stipulations, Hamas pledged to release 20 hostages. In exchange, Israel will release 60 Palestinian prisoners.
