Jenin Amro, 23, says Israeli authorities still have yet to tell her why she was detained for 13 months before being released as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
After 484 days in captivity, Siegel was released from Gaza along with Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas. In exchange, 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released by Israel into Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Five Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas since its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel were released Thursday. They were among 31 Thais taken by the militant group, of whom 23 have already been released. Another two have been confirmed dead, and the status of one remaining person is not clear. According to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, including the two who died in Hamas captivity. They were among tens of thousands of Thai workers in Israel.
Siegel, along with Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas, are set to be released Saturday, after 484 days in captivity. In exchange, Israel is expected to release another group of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
Israel’s ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees went into effect Thursday in a move that the world body has warned will jeopardize humanitarian aid efforts in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. The move comes as 2 million Palestinians living in those areas are grappling with the destruction wrought during the 15 months of the Gaza war and its timing — coming at an especially vulnerable moment for the Palestinian territories — has alarmed the international community.
As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory. While saying he favors diplomacy, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi told the nation on Wednesday night that he would mount a military riposte and warned: “The presence of thousands of Rwandan soldiers on our soil ... (is leading) to an escalation with unpredictable consequences.”
The release of 110 Palestinians got back on track after the Israeli government said it had received assurances about future exchanges.
As Ahmed al-Qudra set off to see what — if anything — remained of his family’s home in the village of al-Qarara, he believed the long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza had begun. So at around 9 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, he began walking north through the city of Khan Younis with his seven children, including his oldest son, Adli, 16, and his youngest daughter, Sama, 6.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said that “Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war.”
Hamas plans to release three Israeli hostages Thursday — two women and an 80-year-old man — as well as five Thai nationals abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The Hostages Families Forum said it had received news that Hamas will release the eight abductees. The forum is a volunteer-based group the families of the abductees formed after the attack. Among those the militant group plans to release is Arbel Yehoud, 29, whom Israeli officials had expected to be freed last weekend in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, in which a total of 33 hostages are expected to be released.