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AS IT HAPPENED
Israeli military confirms 13 Israelis, four foreign nationals have been released by Hamas
The Israeli military said on Saturday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas had released 13 Israelis and four foreign nationals in the second round of swaps under a cease-fire deal. The news comes after Egypt said that it had received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days. Read our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
Issued on: 25/11/2023 – 07:15
Modified: 25/11/2023 – 23:07
2 min
A table is set for hostages being held in the Gaza Strip, in a show of solidarity, in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 25, 2023.
A table is set for hostages being held in the Gaza Strip, in a show of solidarity, in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 25, 2023. © Leo Correa, AP
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So far today:
The Israeli military said on Saturday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas had released 13 Israelis and four foreign nationals in the second round of swaps under a cease-fire deal.
Egypt said on Saturday that it had received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days.
A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, a US defence official said on Saturday. The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew.
The Palestine Red Crescent said on Saturday that it had received 196 trucks loaded with aid through Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt on Friday.
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This live blog is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, click here.
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an hour ago
Israeli military says hostages released on Saturday will return to Israeli territory
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an hour ago
Hamas says release of Thai hostages from Gaza being completed after efforts from Turkey
Hamas said on Saturday that they are completing the release of Thai hostages from Gaza following efforts from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, according to a statement.
“In response to the efforts of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has completed the release of Thai detainees inside the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.
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2 hours ago
Israeli military says 13 Israeli hostages and four foreign citizens have been released from the Gaza Strip
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2 hours ago
Hamas armed wing says 13 Israelis, four foreign citizens handed over to the Red Cross
The armed wing of Hamas said on Saturday that it had handed over 13 Israeli hostages to the Red Cross under the terms of an agreement with Israel, along with an additional four foreign citizens.
The transfer – which had been delayed after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement, claims denied by Israeli officials – took place “in the context of the humanitarian pause”, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in statement.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman also confirmed that 13 Israeli hostages and four foreign citizens had been handed over to the Red Cross and are now travelling to the Rafah Crossing.
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2 hours ago
‘We are seeing a disproportionate impact on women and girls’ lives in Gaza’
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3 hours ago
Israeli military says hostage release effort currently underway
Work on releasing a second group of Israeli and foreign hostages from Gaza was going ahead, Israel’s chief military spokesperson said on Saturday, after a brief holdup appeared to have been resolved with the help of Qatari negotiators.
“The effort tonight is advancing,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a regular briefing.
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3 hours ago
Qatar’s emir receives call from Biden to discuss Israel’s truce with Hamas
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a phone call from US President Joe Biden on Saturday who expressed his appreciation for Qatar’s role in helping facilitate a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel.
For his part, Al Thani stressed the need to reduce any further escalation, stop bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and ways to increase the flow of aid into the enclave, a statement from the Emir’s Diwan said.
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3 hours ago
Hamas thanks Egypt, Qatar for helping maintain temporary truce with Israel
Hamas announced on Saturday its appreciation for Qatari- and Egyptian-led efforts at ensuring the continuation of a temporary truce agreement between the group and Israel that began on Friday.
Hamas said in a statement that the Egyptian and Qatari parties had confirmed Israel’s commitment to all the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Earlier on Saturday, Hamas had decided to delay a second round of hostage releases as part of the truce deal until Israel committed to letting aid trucks enter northern Gaza.
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4 hours ago
Hamas confirms second release of hostages to go ahead on Saturday
Hamas confirmed on Saturday that the second release under a truce agreement of Israeli hostages captured in the October 7 attacks will go ahead after a delay.
Hamas had “responded positively” to Egyptian and Qatari mediators to ensure the continuation of the truce agreement, it said in a statement, after they relayed a promise by Israel to “uphold all the conditions of the accord”.
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4 hours ago
13 Israeli hostages to be freed ‘tonight’ for 39 Palestinian prisoners, says Qatar
A total of 13 Israeli hostages are to be freed “tonight” for 39 Palestinian prisoners, in a delayed second exchange agreed as part of a temporary truce in Gaza, mediator Qatar said on Saturday.
Seven foreigners held in Gaza will also be released, it added.
“After a delay, obstacles to release of prisoners were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian contacts with both sides, and 39 Palestinian civilians will be released tonight, while 13 Israeli hostages will leave Gaza in addition to 7 foreigners,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
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4 hours ago
One Palestinian killed, three injured by Israeli forces in West Bank, says Palestinian health ministry
At least one Palestinian was killed and three others were injured by Israeli forces on Saturday in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli forces stormed Jenin early on Saturday evening “from several directions, firing bullets and surrounding government hospitals and the headquarters of the Red Crescent Society.”
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4 hours ago
Hamas accuses Israel of not holding up its part of the truce deal
Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan told a press conference on Saturday that Israel has not fulfilled its part of their truce agreement and that it had informed the mediators about Israel’s violations.
He also said the group affirmed its commitment to the truce sponsored by Egypt and Qatar that began on Friday.
Hamdan said a total of 340 aid trucks had entered Gaza since Friday and that 65 of those trucks had reached northern Gaza – “which was less than half of what Israel agreed on.”
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5 hours ago
Qatar in talks with Israel, Hamas to resolve delay in hostage releases
Qatar is in ongoing talks with Israel and Hamas to resolve the delay in hostage releases “as soon as possible,” an official briefed on the situation told Reuters on Saturday.
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5 hours ago
Egypt trying to resolve delay in second hostage release from Gaza, says official
Egypt 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.
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6 hours ago
Red Cross says it ‘remains ready’ to continue hostage-release operations
International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson Lucile Marbeau said Saturday that the organisation “remains ready” to continue operations related to the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, but that it is “up to the parties to resume talks”.
Marbeau spoke to FRANCE 24 after Hamas said it was delaying the release of a second group of hostages until Israel “adheres” to the terms of the agreement in the truce deal with the Palestinian militant group.
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7 hours ago
Israeli officials say second group of hostages not yet handed over to Red Cross
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7 hours ago
Hamas says it is delaying hostage handover until Israel ‘adheres to agreement’
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Saturday that it was delaying the handover of a second group of hostages due to be released under a truce deal until Israel “adheres to the terms of the agreement”.
The entry of humanitarian aid to the northern part of the Gaza Strip and the selection criteria for the liberation of prisoners were the issues in question, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
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7 hours ago
Hamas source says handover of second batch of hostages to Red Cross has begun
A Hamas source told AFP on Saturday that the handover of the second group of hostages to be released under a truce deal with Israel has begun.
“The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades have begun handing the second group of Israeli prisoners over to the Red Cross in (the southern city of) Khan Yunis. There are 14 of them,” the source said.
The brigades are the armed wing of Hamas.
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8 hours ago
Hamas due to release 13 Israeli hostages, says Israeli military
The Palestinian militant group Hamas is due to release 13 Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 39 Palestinians, Israeli military spokesman Olivier Rafowicz told France’s BFMTV.
Egyptian security sources said earlier they had received a list from Hamas of 14 hostages to be released on Saturday.
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Key developments on Friday, November 24
Hamas on Friday released 13 Israelis from captivity in Gaza under the terms of a four-day ceasefire deal with Israel. An additional 10 Thai workers and a Filipino national captured in the October 7 Hamas attack were also released following negotiations brokered by Egypt.
Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from its prisons.
The truce came into effect Friday at 7am local time (0500 GMT), with the temporary cessation of hostilities covering northern and southern Gaza.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, said the group is committed to the truce deal, which involves the release of 50 hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli jails over the four-day period.
For more, read yesterday’s blog here.
About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the enclave, receives data from every hospital in the strip. Hospital administrators say they keep records of every wounded person occupying a bed and every body arriving at a morgue. The ministry also collects from other sources including the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN’s counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
