A Jewish chorus blowing on the shofar marks 155 days of captivity for the hostages in Gaza

LONDON — The cacophonous wail of the shofar was loud, mournful and lasted nearly two minutes as dozens of Jews blew on rams’ horns Sunday to wake up others to the plight of the estimated 100 hostages still held in Gaza. Demonstrators standing in the rain outside a London mosque blew on the long, curling … Read more

The Israeli military says it has rescued 2 hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military said it rescued two hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip early Monday, marking a small but symbolically significant success in its quest to bring home over 100 captives believed to be held by the Hamas militant group. The two men were rescued from a residential building in … Read more

Pigeon Suspected of Being Chinese Spy Released From Captivity

Photo: Hanna Borysenko (Shutterstock) A pigeon that was suspected of being a Chinese secret agent has been cleared of wrongdoing and released following a period of months-long captivity. Yes, you read that right and, no, I am not fucking with you. Alex Winter on Innovative Horror Movies The bird in question was apparently picked up … Read more

Hamas airs video purporting to show two Israeli hostages killed in captivity

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian Islamist group Hamas aired a new video on Monday showing what it said were the bodies of two Israeli hostages, and Israel’s military said that while it was examining the footage, there was serious concern regarding the hostages’ fate. In the video, 26-year-old university student Noa Argamani, seemingly reading a script … Read more

Painful surgeries and passing notes, how Israeli siblings survived Hamas captivity

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Maya Regev lay badly wounded in a nondescript house in Gaza, her leg mangled from a gunshot, under orders not to make a sound. The 21-year-old begged her captors to let her younger brother Itay, who was being held in a room nearby, join her while the bandages on her leg … Read more

Israeli-French hostage recounts harrowing experience in captivity

JERUSALEM — An Israeli woman who recently returned from captivity in the Gaza Strip says she was groped by her Palestinian kidnapper and lived in constant fear throughout the weeks she was held hostage. Mia Schem, a 21-year-old dual citizen of Israel and France, was attending a music festival in southern Israel when Hamas militants … Read more

Teenage siblings freed from Hamas captivity, only to learn their mother had been murdered

Throughout the 50 days Noam and Alma Or were held captive in Gaza, one thought kept the siblings going: reuniting with their mother, who they’d been separated from on October 7 during Hamas’ brutal attacks on their community. But when Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, were released together on Saturday, “this dream had been shattered … Read more

Freed Hostages’ Reveal Conditions in Hamas’ Captivity

JERUSALEM — Plastic chairs as beds. Meals of bread and rice. Hours spent waiting for the bathroom. As former hostages return to Israel after seven weeks of Hamas captivity, information about the conditions of their confinement has emerged. The 58 hostages freed under a cease-fire deal over the past three days have largely stayed out … Read more

First leopard cubs born in captivity in Peru climb trees and greet visitors at a Lima zoo

The first leopard cubs born in captivity in Peru are climbing trees and greeting visitors as they make their debut at a local zoo Photographed from behind a glass, a leopard cub climbs a tree at the Park of Legends Zoo in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. A pair of three-month-old male and female … Read more