RSS
Israeli Hostage’s Release Brings Some Relief for Family but Fate of Wife, Children Unknown
Released Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas, who was seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, embraces loved ones in an unknown location, in this screengrab from a handout video obtained by Reuters on February 1, 2025. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
The family of Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas expressed relief on Saturday after he was released along with two other hostages by Hamas but said that the family’s home remained incomplete.
Yarden, his wife, Shiri and children Ariel, now aged 5, and Kfir, now 2, were seized from their home near Gaza, among the roughly 250 people abducted by Palestinian terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and taken into the coastal enclave.
Shiri and the children were not among those released.
Baby Kfir was only nine-months-old when he was kidnapped. Footage of the 2023 assault showed a terrified Shiri, holding her two children tightly, being taken away by militants.
“A quarter of our heart has returned to us after 15 long months. There are no words to describe the relief of holding Yarden in our hands, embracing him, and hearing his voice,” the Bibas family said in statement.
“Yarden has returned home, but the home remains incomplete.”
Footage released by the Israeli army showed Yarden at a military facility on Saturday reuniting with his father and sister and embracing them both.
Israeli-American Keith Siegel and Israeli-French Ofer Calderon were also released. Israel also freed 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees who had been held in Israeli jails.
Hamas said in late 2023 that Shiri and the children had been killed by Israeli bombardments on Gaza, part of the massive military response to the October 2023 attack.
Hamas is releasing hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons and detention as part of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Since Jan. 13, Israeli hostages, including dual nationals, and five Thais have been freed. Another 20 Israeli hostages are to be released in the initial stage of the truce. Hamas has said eight of those are dead.
More than 100 hostages were freed in a week-long 2023 truce.
Towards the end of that truce Hamas put out a brief video purportedly showing Yarden Bibas being told that his wife and children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Israeli officials have expressed concern over the fate of Shiri and the children but has not said they had been killed.
“We continue with hope and the call for the return of Shiri, the children, and all the hostages. Please continue to make their voices heard and emphasize the urgency of their return,” the family said on Saturday.
The post Israeli Hostage’s Release Brings Some Relief for Family but Fate of Wife, Children Unknown first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Netanyahu Criticizes Nation-Wide Strike That ‘Strengthens Hamas’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday harshly criticized nationwide demonstrations calling for the release of hostages and an end to the Gaza war.
Speaking at a government meeting, Netanyahu argued that such protests only strengthen Hamas and risk repeating the atrocities of October 7.
“Those who call today for an end to Hamas’s war not only harden the terrorist group’s position and delay the release of our hostages, but also guarantee that the horrors of October 7 will be repeated and that we will have to fight an endless war,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister defended Israel’s ongoing military operations, citing strikes carried out in recent days: “In the last 24 hours, the navy attacked power stations in Yemen, IDF soldiers struck Zeitoun and eliminated dozens of terrorists in Gaza, and the air force targeted Hezbollah commanders and launch sites in Lebanon.”
He added that Israel’s response in Lebanon was consistent with the ceasefire agreement: “According to this agreement, we will meet with fire any violation and any attempt to arm Hezbollah.”
Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s conditions for ending the conflict, stressing the need for continued security control in Gaza and the group’s long-term demilitarization. He rejected Hamas’s demand for a full Israeli withdrawal: “They want us to leave Gaza entirely — from the north, the south, the Philadelphi corridor, and the security perimeter. That would only allow them to reorganize, rearm, and attack us again.”
The war has now entered its 681st day, with 49 hostages still held by Hamas.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined a general strike organized by the Hostage Families Forum, calling for the return of all captives in a single deal and for an end to the war. Demonstrations spread across the country, at major intersections, government ministers’ homes, and familiar protest hubs such as Kaplan Junction and the Ayalon highways.
RSS
Family Releases Footage of Matan Zangauker in Captivity
A screenshot of a video released by the family of hostage Matan Zangauker.
i24 News – The family of Matan Zangauker, the Israeli hostage held by Hamas since October 7, shared new footage of him from captivity on Sunday evening.
The video, obtained by the IDF, was recorded several months ago.
In the recording, 32-year-old Matan looks directly into the camera, addressing his loved ones: “Tato, Shani, Ilana, I miss you. God willing, we’ll see each other soon. All my friends and acquaintances, go out and make noise like only you know how.”
Matan was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his partner Ilana Gritsievsky, who was released in a hostage deal last year. Since then, Matan has remained in Hamas custody while his family continues to fight for his return.
On the national protest day calling for the release of hostages, Ilana staged a poignant display at Hostages Square. Dressed in a wedding gown beneath a chuppah, she symbolically “married” Matan in his absence. “Matan, my curly-haired one, if you hadn’t been abducted, we could already be married. In a single day, our world was destroyed, and you’re not here to hold me. I’m fighting for you until you come back,” she said.
Matan’s mother, Einav, has emerged as a leading voice in the campaign for the hostages’ release and has sharply criticized Israel’s political leadership, accusing them of undermining potential hostage deals.
RSS
Hamas Rejects Israel’s Gaza Relocation Plan
Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp as the Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, in Gaza City August 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area.
The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception.”
The Israeli military has said it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat zones to the south of the enclave “to ensure their safety.”
Hamas said in a statement that the deployment of tents under the guise of humanitarian purposes is a blatant deception intended to “cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute.”
Israel said earlier this month that it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban center. The plan has raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, which is home to about 2.2 million people.