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PARIS, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Nine children, four women and a Russian-Israeli were released Sunday by Gaza rulers Hamas, according to accounts given to AFP by their relatives, Israeli media and the Hostage Families Forum. The releases bring to 63 the total number of freed hostages from around 240 taken to Gaza after the unprecedented October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The releases came following a Friday agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is […]
DUBAI, Nov 27, 2023 (AFP) – A tanker linked to an Israel-affiliated company was seized off Yemen Sunday by armed individuals, US defence officials said, but the crew members were later brought to safety. “There are indications that an unknown number of unidentified armed individuals seized the M/V Central Park in the Gulf of Aden Nov. 26,” a US defence official told AFP. The maritime security firm Ambrey said that “US naval forces are engaged […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas released a third group of hostages including a four-year-old American girl Sunday, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners on day three of a truce which a source close to the militants said they were willing to prolong. The transfers under a four-day truce that started Friday have been the first relief for captives’ families since the militant […]
BANGKOK, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – An ethnic minority armed group in Myanmar has seized control from the country’s ruling junta of a lucrative border crossing to China, local media and a security source said Sunday. Clashes have raged across Myanmar’s northern Shan state, close to the Chinese border, after an armed alliance of three ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the military in October. The groups have seized dozens of military positions and […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas fighters were set Sunday to release a third group of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a day after freeing captives including a young woman snatched from a desert rave. In a sign of the fragility of the exchanges, the latest swap Saturday was delayed for hours after Hamas accused Israel of breaching its side […]
By Jean-Philippe CHOGNOT PARIS, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Families and children kidnapped from Israel’s southern Kibbutz Beeri were among the 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday, according to accounts given to AFP by their relatives, Israeli press, and the Hostage Families Forum. The releases came following a Friday agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is supposed to last four days and allow for 50 Israelis and 150 Palestinians to be freed. A […]
JERUSALEM, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Prison authorities in Israel announced early Sunday that they had released 39 Palestinian detainees, after Hamas freed 13 hostages under an agreement that came into force on Friday. The freed Palestinian prisoners are all women and people under the age of 19, while the hostages released by Hamas are all women and children. The agreement is supposed to last four days and allow the release of 50 Israelis and […]
TEHRAN, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Iran said Saturday it helped broker the surprise release of Thai nationals who had been held by Palestinian militants in war-ravaged Gaza since their shock attack on Israel last month. On Friday, Hamas unexpectedly released 10 Thais and a Filipino, along with the 13 Israeli women and children that were part of a temporary truce deal with Israel. Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from its […]
DUBLIN, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – A nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl was among the latest group of hostages released by Hamas fighters on Saturday, Ireland’s prime minister said in a statement. “This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family,” Leo Varadkar said. “An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.” Emily was […]
KYIV, Ukraine, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Ukraine said on Saturday it had downed 71 Russian attack drones overnight, in what Kyiv authorities said was the biggest attack on the capital since the start of the invasion. The Ukrainian army said the majority of the Iranian-made Shahed drones were downed over the capital, Kyiv, causing power cuts in the centre of the city as temperatures dipped below freezing. The drone attack came as Ukraine marked […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas fighters were set to release a second group of hostages Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, officials said, as a truce largely held in the devastated Gaza Strip after seven weeks of war that killed thousands of people. Israeli prison authorities said 42 Palestinian inmates — both male and female — would be freed under the […]
By Julien Dury PARIS, Nov 24, 2023 (AFP) – How will the first group of hostages released by Hamas on Friday recover from the psychological trauma of being held captive since the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7? It is a difficult question to answer, experts say, because the capacity to recover from being held hostage varies enormously and unpredictably from one person to another. “Whilst many people released from captivity experience […]
