The Israel Defence Forces or IDF has
confirmed the release of over 14 hostages, including 10 Israelis and four Thai
nationals, from Hamas captivity, as reported by The Times of Israel.
As a part of the Israel-Hamas extended
truce deal, Hamas released these 14 hostages, who have been transferred by the
Red Cross from the Gaza Strip to Egypt via the Rafah crossing.
Earlier, Hamas released two dual
Russian-Israeli citizens, Yelena Trupanov and her mother, Irena Tati, as part
of a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin, unrelated to the truce deal
with Israel, according to The Times of Israel.
The mother and daughter were then
brought to Sheba Medical Centre following their return to Israel.
The Times of Israel reported the 10
Israeli hostages released were identified as Raz Ben Ami, Yarden Roman, Liat
Atzili, Moran Stela Yanai, Liam Or, Itay Regev, Ofir Engel, Amit Shani, Gali
Tarshansky and Raaya Rotem.
Moreover, the hostages will be brought
to a meeting point where Israeli forces will verify their identities before
escorting them into Israel via a side gate at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Meanwhile, the IDF said, “The families
of the hostages are being updated by IDF representatives with the latest available
information.”
Excluding today’s release of hostages,
50 were released between Friday and Monday, while 10 others were freed on the
night of Tuesday.
According to the initial truce
agreement, Israel agreed to halt its military operations in Gaza for four days
and emphasised that it would release three Palestinian security prisoners for
each of the 50 hostages freed from Gaza.
Notably, Israel President Isaac Herzog
is set to attend the COP28 climate conference in Dubai later this week to hold
sideline meetings with global leaders, in order to get the remaining hostages
released from Gaza, stated his office.
“The purpose of these meetings is to
reveal to world leaders in a clear and profound manner the atrocities committed
by the Hamas terror organization during the horrific massacre on October 7 and
to emphasize the essential security threat that led to Israel’s forced entry
into the war,” further stated Herzog’s office.
Furthermore, Herzog will use the
meetings to highlight the steps Israel is taking to mitigate the humanitarian
crisis in Gaza as it continues its war against Hamas once the truce concludes.
ANI
