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10 Israelis, including teen with her dog, and 2 Thais freed from Gaza as ceasefire goes into overtime
(JTA) — Hamas released another 10 Israeli hostages, nine women and a 17-year-old girl, on the first day of a two-day extension of a ceasefire, one the Biden Administration hopes to further extend as it seeks to expand humanitarian relief for Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
The hostages released Tuesday bring the total of Israeli hostages released to 61. Also released were two Thais, bringing the total number of foreigners released to 20. They are among an estimated 240 hostages taken when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7.
Virtually all of the released hostages and Palestinian prisoners are women and children. Released on Tuesday were:
Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and her daughter Mia, 17. Mia, the only minor released Tuesday, was kidnapped with her Shih Tzu dog, Bella, and was photographed crossing over to the care of Red Cross officials carrying the dog. The Leimbergs are Jerusalem residents who were visiting friends in Nir Yitzhak, a kibbutz, when they were abducted.
Rimon Kirsht, 36, a resident of Kibbutz Nirim. Her husband, Yagev, remains a hostage.
Clara Merman, 63, a resident of Nir Yitzhak. Her partner and her brother remain hostages.
Ofelia Roitman, 77, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Like Gabriela Leimberg, Roitman is an immigrant from Argentina.
Ditza Heiman, 84, one of the founders of Nir Oz. She was seen being transferred to Red Cross custody in a wheelchair.
Tamar Metzger, 78, from Nir Oz. Her husband, Yoram, 80, remains a hostage.
Noralin Babadilla, who was visiting friends in Kibbutz Nirim with her partner, Gideon Babani, who was murdered on Oct. 7.
Ada Sagi, 75, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Meirav Tal, 53, who was visiting Nir Oz with her partner, Yair Yaakov. Yaakov’s sons, Yagil and Or, were released Monday. Yair remains a hostage.
Tuesday was the first day of a two-day extension of the four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar, one of a handful of nations that maintains ties with Hamas, Egypt and the United States. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel releases three times as many Palestinians imprisoned on terrorism-related charges.
With just one day of the extension remaining, there are talks open about lengthening the ceasefire. Hamas has reportedly offered to release soldiers and men in a next phase, but its terms are not clear. Any exchange of soldiers is seen as likely requiring the release of more and higher-profile Palestinian security prisoners, as well as a longer or permanent ceasefire.
Those terms are unlikely to be accepted by Israel, which does not want to lose the momentum it has gained in six weeks of striking back against Hamas. It has mostly dismantled the terrorist group in the north of the strip, according to reports, in massive air and ground attacks that have also driven half of Gaza’s 2 million population to the southern portion of the strip.
Israel’s stated war aim is the return of all the hostages and the removal of Hamas from power. U.S. President Joe Biden, under increasing pressure from the international community and from within his own Democratic Party, has stood by those war aims and rejected a long-term ceasefire.
But Biden is unhappy with the extent of Israel’s counterstrikes. The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry says more than 13,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed. It is not known what portion of that number are combatants and what portion were killed by misfired rockets aimed at Israel.
Two top Biden Administration officials told reporters on Monday evening that Biden hoped to extend the humanitarian pauses in order to expand assistance reaching the Palestinians. Israel has opened up corridors for such assistance, under pressure from Biden.
“We would like to see the deal — the current humanitarian pause deal extended as long as possible,” said one of the senior administration officials, who conducted the briefing on condition of remain ing anonymous. “So, we would like to see that going as long as there are additional hostages to get out.”
The officials, in unusually stern language — even for a briefing in which they did not have to be named — said Israel could not resume the war with the ferocity with which it had conducted itself until now.
“You cannot have the sort of scale of displacement that took place in the north replicated in the south. It will be beyond disruptive,” one of the officials said. “It will be beyond the capacity of any humanitarian support network, however reinforced, however robust to be able to cope with. It can’t happen, which means that the manner of the campaign has to be extremely carefully thought through to minimize this consequence of further, significant displacement.”
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.