Latest news with #Yehud
Boston Globe
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Israel frees Palestinian prisoners after chaotic hostage handover
Advertisement The episode briefly cast doubt on whether the prisoner release would happen at all. Netanyahu blasted the 'shocking scenes' of crowds yelling and jostling to get nearer to a fearful-looking Yehud and a grim-looking Moses. 'This is additional proof of the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas terrorist organization,' the Israel prime minister said. He called on the international mediators to secure guarantees from Hamas for 'the safe exit of our hostages in the next rounds.' The Israeli government later relented, releasing the imprisoned Palestinians, saying that mediators had promised safe passage for hostages in future exchanges. In a statement, Hamas said that the turnout of the crowds for the hostage handovers showed that Palestinians were determined to remain on their land. To Israelis, the chaos illustrated Hamas's desire to humiliate and torment the hostages even as they were being freed. In previous handovers, the militants have driven hostages into jubilant, sometimes jeering crowds before transferring them to Red Cross officials, who then handed them to Israeli officials. In addition to three Israeli hostages, Hamas on Thursday freed five Thai agricultural workers who were among those abducted when the militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They were Pongsak Thanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao, and Surasak Lamnao. The fate of one remaining Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, remained unclear. Advertisement The exchanges came during the first phase of a provisional cease-fire lasting 42 days, and Israel and Hamas still have to negotiate the next one. Before the hostages were freed in Khan Younis on Thursday, large numbers of Palestinians gathered near the home of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza who was killed by Israel in October. A small white van carrying the captives and surrounded by armed gunmen slowly pushed its way through the yelling crowds. Photos and video footage show Yehud, one of the last living female hostages to be held in Gaza, walking cautiously through the throngs while surrounded by rifle-wielding militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad as they walked toward a Red Cross convoy. The Red Cross handed Yehud over to Israeli soldiers. The third freed Israeli hostage, Moses, was also forced to wend his way through a tight crowd of spectators. Yves Daccord, a former director general of the Red Cross, said the handovers in Khan Younis were 'risky,' 'unacceptable' and 'absolutely psychological torture.' 'Releasing hostages in this way creates an enormous trauma on top of everything that has already happened,' he said in an interview. Ideally, he said, hostages should be released away from crowds and cameras. After her release, Yehud was taken to Sheba Hospital in the city of Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv. She was met with crowds in Israel, too, but they were welcoming. 'Our life's mission to bring Arbel back to us has succeeded,' her family said in a statement. Yehud was 28 when she was taken hostage along with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. Cunio is believed to still be a captive in Gaza. Yehud's brother, Dolev Yehud, a medic, was identified last year as having been killed during the Hamas-led attack. Advertisement In a statement posted by the Hostage Families Forum, an umbrella organization, Yehud's family urged Israeli officials to pursue the cease-fire agreement until all hostages were released. 'Everyone must be brought home immediately so that we can heal as a society,' it said. Berger, the soldier returned home from northern Gaza, was in 'good' condition, according to Dr. Eytan Wirtheim, the CEO of Beilinson Hospital, where she was taken. She had been 19 and serving as a lookout at the Nahal Oz army base near the border with Gaza when the Hamas-led militants stormed the facility, killing more than 50 soldiers and abducting her and six other soldiers. Four of them were released in an exchange Saturday. Moses, a farming expert, was 79 when he was abducted in Kibbutz Nir Oz after trying to reason with the marauding militants. His partner, Efrat Katz, had hidden inside a safe room in their home with her daughter and two visiting grandchildren, until they, too, were taken. Their kidnapping was captured on a video that showed them pushed together in the back of a pickup. Efrat Katz was killed when an Israeli helicopter responding to the attack fired on the vehicle. Her daughter and grandchildren were released in November 2023. The freed Thai men underwent initial medical examinations Thursday and were found to be in 'good' condition, a spokesperson for Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said in a statement. Economic hardship has spurred thousands of Thais, particularly from the Isaan region of northeastern Thailand, to take agricultural jobs in Israel. Thai farmhands working in Israel suffered a heavy toll in the 2023 Hamas-led attacks. At least 39 were killed and at least 31 taken hostage, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry. Advertisement Twenty-three of them were released in November 2023. Two others died in captivity, the Foreign Ministry said last May. Hamas had pledged to free at least 33 hostages in exchange for more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners during the cease-fire's first phase. On Thursday, Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 32 serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis. Before the releases, Palestinians stood outside a government recreation center in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, restlessly checking their phones for updates on the prisoners. For some waiting outside the recreation center, anticipation was tempered by sorrow. Alaa Zubeidi was dressed in black in memory of her eldest son, Mohamed, who she said had been killed by an Israeli drone strike in September in their hometown, Jenin. Now, she was awaiting the release of her husband, Zakariya Zubeidi, who over the past two decades has been a militant, a theater director and an escaped prisoner. Israeli forces recaptured him in 2019. Finally, around 7 p.m., a chain of buses arrived, carrying dozens of former Palestinian prisoners. Sixty-seven others arrived in Ramallah on Thursday, including 27 children, officials said. An additional 14 Palestinians arrived in Jerusalem and nine in Gaza, while 20 were sent to Egypt. In Beitunia in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as a Red Cross buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners arrived, Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli forces, who fired stun grenades in response, footage livestreamed on Arabic television networks showed. It was unclear if there were any casualties. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
New York Times
30-01-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Israel Frees Palestinian Prisoners After Chaotic Hostage Handover
Israel and Hamas exchanged a new group of hostages and prisoners on Thursday in a handover that devolved into chaos as the armed militants struggled to control a chanting, jostling crowd of Palestinians trying to catch a glimpse of Israelis held captive during 15 months of war. Hamas released a total of eight Israeli and Thai hostages in the Gaza Strip, including the tightly choreographed handover of an Israeli soldier, Agam Berger, 20, in the northern town of Jabaliya. But the tumult surrounding the release of two other Israeli hostages — Arbel Yehud, 29, and Gadi Moses, 80, in the city of Khan Younis — infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. It led his office to announce he had suspended the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners as called for under the truce brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. The episode briefly cast doubt on whether the prisoner release would happen at all. Mr. Netanyahu blasted the 'shocking scenes' of crowds yelling and jostling to get nearer to a fearful-looking Ms. Yehud and a grim-looking Mr. Moses. 'This is additional proof of the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas terrorist organization,' the Israel prime minister said. He called on the international mediators to secure guarantees from Hamas for 'the safe exit of our hostages in the next rounds.' The Israeli government later relented, releasing the imprisoned Palestinians, saying that mediators had promised safe passage for hostages in future exchanges. In a statement, Hamas said that the turnout of the crowds for the hostage handovers showed that Palestinians were determined to remain on their land. To Israelis, the chaos illustrated Hamas's desire to humiliate and torment the hostages even as they were being freed. In previous handovers, the militants have driven hostages into jubilant, sometimes jeering crowds before transferring them to Red Cross officials, who then handed them to Israeli officials. In addition to three Israeli hostages, Hamas on Thursday freed five Thai agricultural workers who were among those abducted when the militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They were Pongsak Thanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao and Surasak Lamnao. The fate of one remaining Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, remained unclear. The exchanges came during the first phase of a provisional cease-fire lasting 42 days, and Israel and Hamas still have to negotiate the next one. Before the hostages were freed in Khan Younis on Thursday, large numbers of Palestinians gathered near the home of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza who was killed by Israel in October. A small white van carrying the captives and surrounded by armed gunmen slowly pushed its way through the yelling crowds. Photos and video footage show Ms. Yehud, one of the last living female hostages to be held in Gaza, walking cautiously through the throngs while surrounded by rifle-wielding militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad as they made their way toward a Red Cross convoy. The Red Cross handed Ms. Yehud over to Israeli soldiers. The third freed Israeli hostage, Mr. Moses, was also forced to wend his way through a tight crowd of spectators. Yves Daccord, a former director general of the Red Cross, said the handovers in Khan Younis were 'risky,' 'unacceptable' and 'absolutely psychological torture.' 'Releasing hostages in this way creates an enormous trauma on top of everything that has already happened,' he said in an interview. Ideally, he said, hostages should be released away from crowds and cameras. After her release, Ms. Yehud was taken to Sheba Hospital in the city of Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv. She was met with crowds in Israel, too, but they were welcoming. 'Our life's mission to bring Arbel back to us has succeeded,' her family said in a statement. Ms. Yehud was 28 when she was taken hostage along with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. Mr. Cunio is believed to still be a captive in Gaza. Ms. Yehud's brother, Dolev Yehud, a medic, was identified last year as having been killed during the Hamas-led attack. In a statement posted by the Hostage Families Forum, an umbrella organization, Ms. Yehud's family urged Israeli officials to pursue the cease-fire agreement until all hostages were released. 'Everyone must be brought home immediately so that we can heal as a society,' it said. Ms. Berger, the soldier returned home from northern Gaza, was in 'good' condition, according to Dr. Eytan Wirtheim, the chief executive of Beilinson Hospital, where she was taken. She had been 19 and serving as a lookout at the Nahal Oz army base near the border with Gaza when the Hamas-led militants stormed the facility, killing more than 50 soldiers and abducting her and six other soldiers. Four of them were released in an exchange on Saturday. Those four soldiers have been 'improving from day to day' in the hospital, Dr. Wirtheim said in a televised statement. He said they had decided to stay in the hospital to keep Ms. Berger company during her first days of freedom. Mr. Moses, a farming expert, was 79 when he was abducted in Kibbutz Nir Oz after trying to reason with the marauding militants. His partner, Efrat Katz, had hidden inside a safe room in their home with her daughter and two visiting grandchildren, until they, too, were taken. Their kidnapping was captured on a video that showed them squashed together in the back of a pickup. Ms. Katz was killed when an Israeli helicopter responding to the attack fired on the vehicle. Her daughter and grandchildren were released in November 2023. The freed Thai men underwent initial medical examinations on Thursday and were found to be in 'good' condition, a spokesman for Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said in a statement. Vilas Thanna, the father of Mr. Pongsak, who worked on a fruit farm, could barely get the words out as he digested the news of his son's freedom 'When we are happy, we cry,' he said. 'When we are sad, we also cry. But these are happy tears.' Economic hardship has spurred thousands of Thais, particularly from the Isaan region of northeastern Thailand, to take agricultural jobs in Israel. Thai farmhands working in Israel suffered a heavy toll in the 2023 Hamas-led attacks. At least 39 were killed and at least 31 taken hostage, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry. Twenty-three of them were released in November 2023. Two others died in captivity, the Foreign Ministry said last May. Hamas had pledged to free at least 33 hostages in exchange for more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners during the cease-fire's first phase. On Thursday, Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 32 serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis. Before the releases, Palestinians stood outside a government recreation center in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, restlessly checking their phones for updates on the prisoners. Samar Faisal stood in the crisp winter air, shivering as much from excitement as the cold. She was in disbelief, she said. After more than 20 years in an Israeli prison, her brother was being released. 'I'm anxious and praying for the moment I finally see him,' Ms. Faisal said, as volunteers in fluorescent vests moved through the crowd. For some waiting outside the recreation center, anticipation was tempered by sorrow. Alaa Zubeidi was dressed in black in memory of her eldest son, Mohamed, who she said had been killed by an Israeli drone strike in September in their hometown, Jenin. Now, she was awaiting the release of her husband, Zakariya Zubeidi, who over the past two decades has been a militant, a theater director and an escaped prisoner. Israeli forces recaptured him in 2019. Finally, around 7 p.m., a chain of buses arrived, carrying dozens of former Palestinian prisoners. Sixty-seven others arrived in Ramallah on Thursday, including 27 children, officials said. An additional 14 Palestinians arrived in Jerusalem and nine in Gaza, while 20 were sent to Egypt. In Beitunia in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as a Red Cross buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners arrived Palestinians hurled stones at Israeli forces, who fired stun grenades in response, footage live-streamed on Arabic television networks showed. It was unclear if there were any casualties. The exchanges were the third swap in the first phase in the 42-day truce that halted the fighting between Hamas and Israel. On Saturday, Hamas is expected to release three more male hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners. In all, some 250 people were abducted from Israel during the 2023 attack and about 1,200 killed, the Israelis said. Israel responded by unleashing airstrikes across Gaza. The devastation displaced millions of Palestinians and led to the death of more than 47,000, according to Gazan health officials, whose figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. On Thursday, months after Israel announced it had killed the leader of Hamas's military wing, Muhammad Deif, in an airstrike, a Hamas official confirmed the death in a video statement.
Saba Yemen
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Saraya Al-Quds broadcast video of Zionist prisoner Arbel Yehud prior to her release
Gaza - Saba: Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, published today, Thursday, pictures showing the Zionist prisoner Arbel Yehud and the prisoner Gadi Moses before they were handed over to the Zionist side. According to what was reported by the Palestinian Media Center, the video showed the moment of the first meeting between Yehud and Moses, who apparently were not in the same place, as they embraced warmly under the protection of the Saraya fighters. The two prisoners are scheduled to be released in the coming hours as part of the third batch of the prisoner exchange between the resistance and Israel. A large number of resistance fighters have spread out in the areas of the Gaza Strip that will witness the handover of the new prisoners, while thousands of returnees gathered in Razan Square in the center of Jabalia camp to attend the handover of some of the prisoners. Earlier today, Thursday, the military spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades confirmed the completion of the procedures for handing over Yehud and Moses, while the Zionist newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the army estimates that the Palestinian resistance factions will release three prisoners from the north and south of the Gaza Strip within the next hour. The fighters of the Al-Quds Brigades were deployed in Khan Yunis in the south of the Strip, where Yehud and Moses are expected to be released, while the enemy army radio said that the Islamic Jihad movement is trying to "exploit the release of the two prisoners to show its strength in Khan Yunis." The Zionist Channel 13 reported that "Tel Aviv" was officially notified that the two prisoners, Gadi Moses and Arbel Yehud, will be released from Gaza before 12 noon local time. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Latest round of Gaza hostage-prisoner exchanges carried out
The latest round of exchanges of hostages from the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners has been carried out with Israel. Buses carrying Palestinian detainees left Israel's Ofer Prison in the West Bank on Thursday afternoon after a delay. Israel was expected to release 110 jailed Palestinians in total in exchange for the handover earlier on the day of eight hostages - three Israelis and five Thais - held by militants in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. All the released individuals were handed over to the Israeli army and first brought to a meeting with their parents on Israeli territory. They were subsequently flown by helicopter to hospital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the release of the Palestinian prisoners after mob chaos erupted at one of the hostage handovers in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. Broadcasters showed Arbel Yehud, a 29-year-old woman, and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man, struggling to make their way through the densely-packed crowd of chanting people and to the waiting Red Cross vehicles. "I view with utmost severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages," Netanyahu said in a statement as he paused the reciprocal release of the Palestinians. A short time later he announced that he had received assurances about the safety of the hostage handovers going forward, paving the way for the release of the Palestinians. This marks the third round of releases since an initial six-week truce between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza went into effect on January 19. Israeli soldier Agam Berger, 20, was the first to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Her transfer took place amid the ruins of the Jabalia urban refugee camp in northern Gaza. Berger, likely acting under duress, waved to a crowd from a stage she was placed on. Berger's family in Israel watched the ceremony on television and reacted with enthusiastic cheers to the sight of her. A crowed of people also celebrated and waved Israeli flags at what has become known as "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv. Hours later, Israeli authorities confirmed that five Thai nationals and two German-Israelis, Yehud and Moses, were released. Both of the German-Israelis are civilians. These seven were released to aid workers in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. Threatening scenes during hostage release Broadcaster Al Jazeera showed chaotic scenes of Yehud and Moses struggling to make their way through the densely-packed crowed of shouting people and to the waiting ICRC vehicles. Many Palestinians attempted to photograph the woman with their mobile phones. Masked and armed Islamists accompanied and protected them. A fighter held the hand of the woman, who appeared frightened. The handover "ceremony" took place next to the destroyed house of Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar, who had been the leader of Hamas in Gaza until he was killed by Israeli forces in October. "This is further evidence of the unimaginable cruelty of the terrorist organization Hamas," Netanyahu said, according to his office. Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke of "scenes of abuse and terror." Nevertheless, he said the return of all eight hostages from captivity brought tears to his eyes. German leaders reacted with relief to the release. "Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses are free, both German-Israeli citizens," Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on the platform X. "We are relieved and glad for all the hostages who returned today." A similar sentiment was expressed by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Yehud was abducted from her house in the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7, 2023, along with her boyfriend. The woman's brother, who also lived in Nir Oz, was killed during the attack. Before their release, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group released a video of Yehud smiling and embracing Moses. Moses was also abducted from Nir Oz. His partner was killed during the massacre. Palestinian prisoners include more than 30 lifers Of the 110 Palestinian prisoners who were to be exchanged for the three Israeli hostages, more than 30 had been sentenced to life imprisonment. According to Israeli media reports, this included Zakaria Zubeidi, who during the Second Palestinian Intifada was a commander of the military wing of the Fatah movement in Jenin, in the northern West Bank. During the period between 2000 and 2005, around 3,500 Palestinians were killed, with more than 1,000 Israelis losing their lives in attacks by Palestinians. According to media reports, Mahmoud Atallah, who is serving a life sentence plus 15 years for the murder of a Palestinian woman accused of collaborating with Israel, was also to be released. No Palestinian prisoners were to be released for the five Thai hostages. Israeli media reported they were freed under an agreement between Hamas and Thailand. Militants from Hamas and other extremist groups killed around 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 Israelis as hostages to the Gaza Strip during their assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack was the trigger for the war in the besieged coastal area, where, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 47,400 people have been killed since. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Ceasefire and exchange of hostages and prisoners The ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on January 19, states that in an initial phase, 33 hostages are to be released in exchange for 1,904 Palestinian prisoners over six weeks: Seven hostages were freed in the past two weekends. Hamas recently announced that eight of the 33 hostages were dead, without specifying which hostages these were. The fate of a mother and her two small children, who were also abducted to the Gaza Strip and were to be released in the first phase, remains uncertain. According to Israeli reports, around 80 hostages remain in the Gaza Strip. Three more of them are to be freed on Saturday.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gaza militants free eight hostages in latest swap with Israel
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Thursday set free a total of eight hostages - three Israelis and five Thai nationals - who had been held since the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. This marks the third round of releases since an initial six-week truce between Israel and the militant group Hamas in Gaza went into effect on January 19. Israeli soldier Agam Berger was the first to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Her transfer took place amid the ruins of the Jabalia urban refugee camp in northern Gaza. Berger, likely acting under duress, waved to a crowd from a stage she was placed on. Berger's family in Israel watched the ceremony on television and reacted with enthusiastic cheers to the sight of her. A crowed of people also celebrated and waved Israeli flags at what has become known as "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv. Hours later, Israeli authorities confirmed that five Thai nationals and two more Israelis, one of them female and one male, were released. Both of the Israelis are civilians. These seven were released to aid workers in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. The two Israeli hostages were Arbel Yehud, a 29-year-old woman, and 80-year-old man Gadi Moses. Both Yehud and Moses also hold German citizenship. Broadcaster Al Jazeera showed chaotic scenes of Yehud and Moses, accompanied by masked men, struggling to make their way through the densely-packed crowed of people and to the waiting ICRC vehicles. The handover took place next to the destroyed house of Yehya al-Sinwar, who had been the leader of Hamas in Gaza until he was killed by Israeli forces in October. The released hostages were initially taken to an Israeli military camp on the edge of the Gaza Strip and from there to various different hospitals in Israel. In exchange for the hostages' freedom, 110 Palestinians held in Israeli jails are expected to be released on Thursday. About 30 of them have been convicted on murder charges. Yehud was abducted from her house in the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7, 2023, along with her boyfriend. The woman's brother, who also lived in Nir Oz, was killed during the attack. Before their release, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group released a video of Yehud smiling and embracing Moses. Moses was also abducted from Nir Oz. His partner was killed during the massacre.
