All articles tagged with #hostages
Ex-hostage Arbel Yehoud says she was sexually assaulted almost daily during captivity in Gaza and even considered ending her life; she and partner Ariel Cunio endured long separations, exchanged letters via captors, and were released in 2025. They’ve since reunited and aim to rebuild a modest life together, though the trauma remains a continuing challenge.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch describes Hamas’s plan to use hostages as long-term leverage, his role coordinating captives and missing people, and the high-stakes rescue efforts and negotiations around the Gaza crisis, including the recovery of Ran Gvili’s remains. He argues several rescue attempts were halted to protect others, notes the US, Egypt, and Qatar’s mediation, and calls for a standing national framework and a permanent hostage-coordinator to prevent a repeat turn of events.
Israel returned 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza, the last exchange in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Hamas after recovering the last Israeli hostage; the Red Cross helped facilitate the handover, and about 100 of the remains have been identified. The ceasefire’s next phase will involve deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, and rebuilding Gaza, while fighting persists and the Rafah crossing is expected to reopen with limited movement.
A Tel Aviv countdown clock counting the days since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack will be switched off after the discovery of the last remaining hostage’s body in Gaza, Ran Gvili. The moment is framed as national closure and healing, coinciding with updates to a US-backed plan that includes reopening Gaza’s Rafah border and advancing the war’s endgame, while ceasefire violations and ongoing casualties continue in the region.
Trump told Axios that Hamas helped locate the remains of the last Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, and urged the group to disarm as phase one of his peace plan concludes with all hostages returned. The recovery clears the way for phase two—Gaza demilitarization and a new security force—while U.S. officials say Hamas cooperated in the search. A limited reopening of the Rafah crossing is planned, and negotiations on disarmament and amnesty are expected soon, though skepticism about Hamas’ willingness to disarm persists and rebuilding hinges on demilitarization.
Israel says it recovered the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage whose remains were believed to be in Gaza, marking the end of Israeli hostages in Gaza since 2014. Forensic identification allowed burial, and Netanyahu called it an outstanding accomplishment, while Hamas framed it as proof of commitment to the ceasefire’s first phase. The Rafah crossing was to reopen for pedestrians after the search, with EU oversight and conditions tied to the ceasefire terms.
Israel says it is conducting a large-scale operation in Gaza to locate the final hostage, Ran Gvili, as U.S.-backed ceasefire negotiations press toward a second phase and a possible reopening of the Rafah crossing. The search, described in detail including a cemetery near the yellow line and involvement of rabbis and dental experts, comes amid mounting pressure and contrasting statements from Hamas. Separately, a UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem was set ablaze, prompting questions about attacks on aid agencies amid the broader conflict.
Israel received a coffin believed to contain the body of a Gaza hostage, as part of ongoing efforts to recover remains and hostages following the October 2023 Hamas attack. The exchange is part of a US-brokered ceasefire, with progress slow and tensions high, amid ongoing conflict and negotiations over the return of hostages and bodies.
Qatar has called for the continuation of the Gaza ceasefire deal, emphasizing the importance of returning all hostages, including the remaining two deceased hostages, to Israel. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticized Qatar's stance, insisting that progress depends on the return of all hostages, while Qatar argues that delays in retrieving remains should not hinder the deal's implementation.
Israel received the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, killed in Gaza in 2014, ending an 11-year saga and marking a significant step in ongoing negotiations and the US-brokered truce, while also highlighting the ongoing conflict and efforts to recover other missing soldiers and hostages.
The Red Cross received the remains of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed in 2014 and held in Gaza since then, which Hamas claims to have found in a tunnel. If identified as Goldin's, it would mark a significant step in the ongoing negotiations and a potential breakthrough in the return of Israeli hostages, amidst a broader context of conflict and ceasefire efforts in Gaza.
Hamas handed over the remains of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed in 2014 and held in Gaza, which Israel believes are his, marking a significant step in the ongoing conflict and negotiations. The return of Goldin's remains, if confirmed, would bring closure to his family and impact the broader Israeli efforts to recover bodies of soldiers and hostages. The exchange is part of a fragile ceasefire and ongoing negotiations involving the return of hostages and remains.
The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 69,000 amid ongoing conflict, with recent exchanges of bodies and hostages between Israel and Palestinian militants, and increased settler violence in the West Bank during the olive harvest.
Israel has identified and returned the body of Lior Rudaeff from Gaza, amid ongoing tensions and a ceasefire deal that has seen the exchange of hostages and bodies between Israel and Hamas, with continued violence and casualties on both sides.
Since the Gaza ceasefire began on October 10, efforts to return the remains of five hostages held by Hamas have been slow, with Hamas citing buried remains under rubble and Israel accusing militants of delaying. The exchange has seen some remains returned, including an Israeli soldier from 2014 and a Palestinian from the recent conflict, but several hostages' remains, such as Meny Godard and Hadar Goldin, remain unrecovered, highlighting ongoing tensions and challenges in the aftermath of the conflict.