INSIDER
Tens of thousands of Israelis have lined highways holding flags, orange balloons and signs saying “forgive us” in an outpouring of grief as the bodies of a mother and her two small sons who were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip were taken for burial.
Hamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of their ceasefire will end.
The Israeli military says the remains of two child hostages have been identified but another body released by Hamas was not the boys’ mother.
An Israeli official says the bodies of the youngest and one of the oldest captives seized by Hamas during the attack that ignited the war in Gaza are expected to be returned on Thursday.
Israel and Hamas have completed their sixth exchange of hostages and prisoners after their ceasefire survived its latest crisis.
Israel and Hamas have completed the sixth exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners with just over two weeks remaining in the initial phase of their fragile Gaza ceasefire.
Hamas named three more Israeli hostages it will release in a weekend trade for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the latest sign that the shaky Gaza ceasefire deal appears to be holding in spite of a tense dispute that has threatened to renew fighting.
The families of Israeli hostages still held by the Hamas militant group have welcomed the “joyous news” that three men, all taken from the same kibbutz on Oct. 7, 2023, are expected to be freed on Saturday.
Hamas has freed three hostages in the southern Gaza Strip and Israel has released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth round of exchanges during the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The ceasefire in Gaza has seen its smoothest exchange yet of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners along with the reopening of the crucial Rafah crossing.
News that three high-profile hostages are expected to be released has brought excitement and trepidation to Israel on Friday.
The Israeli organization representing families of hostages in Gaza has celebrated the news that three high-profile men will be released next.
As one of the oldest hostages taken by Hamas, Oded Lifshitz would be among the first to be released under a ceasefire deal.
The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least eight people were killed by Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank.
Nir Oz is one of more than 20 towns and villages in southern Israel that were ambushed in the sweeping assault by Hamas on Oct. 7.
