Hamas Is Expected to Release 8 Israeli and Thai Hostages
Hamas will release eight hostages on Thursday — three Israelis and five Thai nationals — after more than a year of captivity in Gaza, the Israeli government said Wednesday night, as the fragile cease-fire between the two sides held through its second week.
The Israeli hostages slated for release include Gadi Moses, 80; Arbel Yehud, 29; and Agam Berger, 20, according to the Israeli authorities. In a statement on social media, Hamas confirmed the three Israelis would be freed. Neither Israel nor Hamas named the Thai citizens who would be released.
Under the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is expected to release more than 100 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages released on Thursday, including around 30 serving life sentences for involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis.
The release is the third so far as Israel and Hamas observe a six-week truce, part of a multiphase agreement that mediators hope will end the war in Gaza. More than 45,000 people were killed there during Israel's campaign against Hamas, according to Gazan health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
During the 42-day initial cease-fire, Hamas committed to freeing at least 33 of the remaining 97 hostages in Gaza in exchange for a partial Israeli withdrawal and the release of over 1,500 Palestinians jailed by Israel. Under the terms of the deal, Ms. Yehud — one of the last living women held hostage — was initially supposed to be freed last week.
When she was not released then, Israel responded by delaying the passage of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, as the agreement stipulated. The Israeli military allowed them to proceed after mediators announced on Sunday that they had secured a commitment for Ms. Yehud's release.
All of the eight captives expected to be freed next were abducted during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on southern Israel that began the war. Roughly 1,200 people were killed during the assault, mostly civilians, and another 250 were taken hostage, according to the Israeli government.
Two of the Israeli hostages are from Nir Oz, an Israeli community near the border with Gaza that was one of the hardest-hit by the Hamas-led attack. More than 65 people were taken hostage from Nir Oz and dozens more were killed.
Mr. Moses, a farming expert, was abducted from his home during the Hamas assault. His partner, Efrat, was killed during the attack, likely by an Israeli helicopter that fired on a vehicle that was ferrying militants and hostages, according to the Israeli military.
Ms. Yehud was kidnapped, as was her partner, Ariel Cunio and the family of his brother, David. David Cunio's wife, Sharon, and their two children were freed along more than 100 other hostages during a weeklong truce in November 2023. Ms. Yehud's brother Dolev was killed during the attack, according to the Israeli military. Ariel and David Cunio remain in Gaza.
Ms. Berger, a young military conscript, was abducted during Hamas's assault on Nahal Oz, the military base where she served as a lookout. Four of the other lookouts taken hostage during the attack were released on Saturday.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, confirmed in a phone interview that the five Thai workers would be released on Thursday. The Thai workers were being held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, he said, referring to a smaller militant group in Gaza distinct from Hamas.
Thailand's ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, also said five of the eight remaining Thai hostages would be released on Thursday, although she said it was not yet clear which ones would be freed.
Ms. Chandraramya said that six living and two dead Thai hostages in Gaza, all aged between 28 and 42, remained in Gaza. All were abducted on during the Hamas-led attack in 2023 from four farms close to the Gaza border, where they were employed as agricultural workers, she said.
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