Hamas and Israel kept their word. On Friday, November 24, a first group of 13 Israeli hostages was released by Hamas. In addition, 10 Thai hostages and one Filipino were released, while 39 Palestinian prisoners were also released by Israel.
A first release of Israeli hostages this Friday. With the truce between Israel and Hamas, thirteen people were released and were taken care of by the International Committee of the Red Cross. They were recovered by Israeli authorities. Who are these freed hostages? According to Radio France, 12 of these 13 hostages came from the same kibbutz, that of Nir Oz, one of the most affected by the October 7 attacks. Le Monde reports for its part that according to a list published Friday by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, we also know that among these 13 hostages, there are four children, including a 2-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister, who were released with their 34-year-old mother. In addition to the four children, six women aged over 70 were also listed among those handed over to Israel on November 24. One of them is said to be 85 years old. A family spanning three generations would also have been released. It would be the grandmother, her daughter and her grandson. Unsurprisingly, no man is among the 13 Israeli hostages who regained their freedom this Friday. There would be no French either. According to a BFMTV source, three of them would however appear on the list of hostages provided to Israel. Note that in addition to this first release, ten Thai hostages and one Filipino were also released from the Gaza Strip.
Friday evening, around 6 p.m., the freed hostages officially arrived in Israeli territory, according to the IDF, which indicated on then being examined by doctors. For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured on X that he and his government were “determined to bring back all [the] hostages.” Paris, for its part, welcomed the release of the hostages while reaffirming that France remained mobilized for the release of its hostages. In its press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for “the truce obtained today” to be “durable, sustained, and [could] lead to a ceasefire”.
In accordance with the agreement reached two days ago between Israel and Hamas, the Hebrew State released this Friday 39 Palestinian prisoners who were in its prisons. “We also confirm the release of thirty-nine women and children detained in Israeli prisons, in accordance with the commitments of the first day of the agreement,” said the spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the network social
The truce continues without deviation in Gaza. The fighting and airstrikes stopped at 7 a.m. (6 a.m. in France) this Friday, November 24. If a few rocket shots were heard a few minutes after the humanitarian pause came into force, the truce seems respected by Israel and Hamas in the 49th war. It must last at least four days.
The delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza also began this Friday morning. Egyptian authorities said in a statement that “200 trucks loaded with food, medicine and water will enter daily” into Gaza, with them “some 130,000 liters of diesel fuel and four tankers carrying gas will enter” each day. This is considerable and necessary aid, but remains insufficient given the needs according to several humanitarian NGOs, especially since this truce does not signal the end of the war. Tensions are also palpable despite the cessation of strikes: the Israeli army maintains its positions and has dropped leaflets specifying that the war is not over and that travel in the Gaza Strip remains prohibited.
The first releases of hostages took place this Friday, November 24, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. During the four-day truce, Israeli hostages will be released in groups of ten in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners. The exchanges take place at the Rafah border post where a first medical examination is carried out and a call with the victims’ families is authorized. The hostages are then taken to Tel Aviv at the end of the afternoon. The Egyptian authorities indicated to AFP that an Egyptian security delegation is present in Jerusalem and Ramallah to ensure “compliance with the list” of released Palestinian prisoners.
At least 50 hostages must be released in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners. But Israel hopes to be able to recover more hostages and has warned that “the release of ten more hostages will result in an additional day of pause.” However, as The Time of Israel reports, this truce will not exceed ten days, and both camps have already announced the resumption of fighting at the end of this period of calm.
After six weeks of captivity, the first Hamas hostages are to be released between November 24 and 28, but despite their release, a return to normal life will not happen immediately. Initially, medical treatment is considered because we still do not know the physical and psychological state of these people.
According to i24News, their release is taking place through the Rafah crossing point. Once there, repatriation by Israeli army helicopters or ambulances is planned. People are taken to different Israeli hospitals, such as “Sheba in Ramat Gan, Ichilov in Tel Aviv, Schneider in Petah Tikva, Wolfson in Holon, Soroka in Beer Sheva or even Assaf Harofeh in Beer Yaacov”, lists i24News. On site, numerous doctors of all specialties await them, from surgeons to ophthalmologists, including pediatricians, psychologists and gynecologists. A first medical examination is given to them before they can even reunite with their loved ones. Blood tests, CT scans and MRIs are being considered. Finally, everything is done so that they can reunite with their loved ones in complete privacy, far from the spotlight and especially the media.
Once back on their feet and these examinations carried out, the former Hamas hostages will be able to return to their daily lives, however with regular follow-up with doctors and psychologists, assures i24News, which reports that, in a second phase, and only “when they will feel sufficiently ready”, the Israeli intelligence services will come and talk to them to obtain information.
A kindness which would be more linked to the profile of the released hostages, namely children and women, i.e. people who were never prepared to experience such events. And for good reason, normally, when hostages are released, the interrogations are generally carried out immediately. Speaking to Le Parisien, Éric Denécé, director of the French Intelligence Research Center (CF2R), believes that this choice of not immediately questioning them is quite significant: “It’s a sign that the Israeli intelligence services are not don’t expect much from them.”
Like the United States, France and a whole part of the international community, it is the entire European Union which welcomed the conclusion of an agreement on the humanitarian truce and the latter wishes to “take advantage of this pause in order to organize a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza” and “intensify” the sending of aid. The agreement is, however, far from unanimously supported by the Israeli government or the civilian population, with some seeing this agreement as a new victory for Hamas. The Association of Victims of Terrorism in Almagor filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Israel for full details of the agreement to be shared, including those on “stopping the collection of intelligence, as well as the delivery of fuel and other supplies that could help Hamas carry out terrorist operations” against Israel, the Time of Israel reports.
If the release of Palestinian prisoners is difficult to pass, it is above all the pause in the fighting which displeases Israeli politicians and soldiers. They fear that the truce will allow Hamas to resupply with weapons, restore communications and reorganize for a counter-offensive. But a few days will not be enough to regain significant forces and military gains for Hamas seem limited, according to former officer Guillaume Ancel to Le Parisien. On the other hand, the Islamist group could benefit from humanitarian aid and fuel convoys, as feared by some Israeli decision-makers. Another possibility: that Hamas takes advantage of the truce to disappear and reach southern Gaza discreetly as suggested by retired general and military expert Dominique Trinquand in the Ile-de-France newspaper. But this plan does not seem to fit with Hamas’s own ideology of struggle.
The humanitarian truce postponed until Friday, the fighting continued this Thursday in the Gaza Strip. Spokespersons for the Israeli army continue to report on their progress and report having “discovered underground infrastructure and weapons under children’s beds” in the premises on the outskirts of the Jabaliya camp. The Tsahla also confirmed the arrest of the director of Al-Shifa hospital, beaten and searched by the Israeli army. The doctor is to be “transferred for questioning” by the intelligence services, according to the statement. The IDF believes that “under the leadership [of the arrested doctor, editor’s note] the hospital was the scene of numerous Hamas terrorist activities.”
The war is therefore far from over and both Hamas and Israel have already confirmed the resumption of fighting following the prisoner exchanges. “The Israeli government, Israeli army and security forces will continue the war to return all abductees, eliminate Hamas and ensure that there is no further threat to the State of Israel from Gaza,” writes the Hebrew State in its press release. While Hamas confirms that its hands “will remain on the trigger and that [the] triumphant battalions will remain on the lookout”, promising to lead the fight for “the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital”.
The toll of the war taking place in Gaza is difficult to establish, as the figures provided by Hamas cannot be independently verified and therefore distinguished from propaganda. According to the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health released Thursday, November 23, 14,854 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, including more than 6,150 children, since the start of the conflict on October 7. The Palestinian movement also reported more than 36,000 injured. Questioned about this toll several weeks ago, the Pentagon spokesperson admitted that, regarding civilian victims in Gaza, “it [had] to be counted in the thousands.”
On the Israeli side, the death toll from the Hamas attack was revised downwards on Friday, November 10, from 1,400 to 1,200 deaths. According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after identification of the bodies, it appeared that many of them belonged to Hamas men. Before that, the Israeli army had also clarified that 46 soldiers had died since the attack on October 7, according to its latest report.
40 French people were killed in Israel during Hamas attacks on October 7, according to the latest report communicated by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on Monday November 6. It also has eight nationals missing. “It is now confirmed that some of them are hostages of Hamas,” the government said on November 6. Paris ensures that it is doing everything possible to save the hostages and repatriate nationals who wish to do so. The Quai d’Orsay announced on November 14 that a total of 112 French people have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip to date. “This assessment marks the end of a first phase of our evacuation operations, which enabled almost all of our compatriots wishing to leave Gaza to do so,” the ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
