- This is a breaking news story, more to come
The Israeli military has revealed that Hamas has handed over ten Israeli and four Thai hostages, all of whom are on their way back to Israel.
Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said in a message to
A list of the exact names of the hostages currently en route to Israel has not yet been released, but a Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the group of Israelis released this evening included five children and five women.
Some have dual nationality: one minor from the Netherlands, three adults from Germany and one adult from the US.
The spokesperson said that 30 Palestinians, consisting of 16 children and 14 women, would be released from Israeli prisons in return.
It comes hours after two elderly Israeli hostages were returned to Israeli forces earlier today in a deal negotiated “outside the framework of the agreement”, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said.
Yelena Trupanov, 50, and her mother, Irena Tati, 73, both of whom have dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, were taken from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the deadly Hamas raid on October 7.
Yelena’s son Sasha and his girlfriend Sapir Cohen remain in Hamas custody, while her husband, Vitaly, was sadly killed on the day of the deadly attacks.
In addition to Yelena and Irena, four Thai citizens were released.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said earlier today that he was “hopeful” the temporary ceasefire could be extended.
“Qatar remains hopeful that the progress made in recent days can be continued and that a further extension of the humanitarian pause agreement can be reached,” he said.
More to follow.