Hamas releases 10 Israelis, 4 Thai hostages on sixth day of truce

Tel Aviv [Israel]: The Israel Defence Forces (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.

Moreover, according to The Times of Israel, 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 Tuesday night.

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, The Times of Israel reported.

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, his office said.

“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,” Herzog’s office said.

Furthermore, Herzog will also 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, The Times of Israel reported.