TEL AVIV — Israel’s military rescued two hostages overnight Monday under the cover of deadly airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, unleashing a wave of hope across Israel and of dread among the 1.4 million Palestinians who have sought refuge in the area that Israeli leaders have pinpointed as the war’s next battleground. … Read more
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
JERUSALEM — Chants of “Now! Now! Now!” ring out at nearly every protest in Israel imploring the government to do everything possible to win the immediate release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas. But a small group of hostages’ families is pushing a different message: Let the army first finish the job of defeating … Read more
U.S. and Mideast mediators appeared optimistic in recent days that they were closing in on a deal for a two-month cease-fire in Gaza and the release of over 100 hostages held by Hamas. But on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the militant group’s two main demands — that Israel withdraw its forces from … Read more
JERUSALEM — Dozens of family members of hostages held by Hamas stormed a committee meeting in Israel’s parliament Monday, demanding a deal to win their loved ones’ release, as European foreign ministers joined growing international calls for Israel to negotiate on the creation of a Palestinian state after the war. The developments showed the increasing … Read more
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas was en route to Gaza on Wednesday after France and Qatar mediated the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a weeklong cease-fire in November. The medicines arrived in Egypt and were on the way to the border. … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave TEL AVIV — A plan mediated by Qatar and France to deliver lifesaving medication to Israeli hostages as well as much needed aid to civilians in Gaza, went into motion Wednesday in a rare diplomatic breakthrough. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Tuesday the supplies would … Read more
On Monday, Hamas released a video that it says shows bodies of two Israeli hostages taken Oct. 7—Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38—claiming that they were killed by Israeli airstrikes. An Israeli military spokesman denied Israel had anything to do with at least one of the deaths, and the Associated Press and New York … Read more
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
By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Hamas aired video on Sunday showing three Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza in which they urged their government to stop the offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group and bring about their release, as both sides marked the 100th day of the war. The undated 37-second video of Noa … Read more