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Hostage release timeline is delayed, extending an excruciating wait for their families
KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (JTA) — Israel has begun making preparations for the care of traumatized hostages who are freed from Gaza, as the country reaches a pivotal moment in its six-week war with Hamas.
But confusion reigned late Wednesday about the timeline for the truce that would see the release of at least 50 hostages, including children, their mothers and the elderly. After Israeli officials suggested that some hostages would be released on Thursday, Israel’s national security council chair said the first release was not expected until at least Friday.
The tweaked timeline is shaking the delicate optimism that had set in for a country that has been consumed by grief and anxiety since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 and taking roughly 250 hostages.
Officials say they still expect the deal to be finalized, and top Israeli security officials are in Qatar to sign off on the agreement. Sources tell Israeli media that one source of the delay could be disagreements between Qatar and Hamas.
Some reports suggest that Israel has gotten a list of the first hostages expected to be released, though whether that was true was not clear. Either way, exactly who is on the list won’t be released publicly in advance, to help families manage their hope, officials said on Wednesday.
But U.S. President Joe Biden said he expected Abigail Mor Idan, a 3-year-old who was taken alone after her parents were murdered, to be in the first group. Her fourth birthday is Friday.
Soldiers who have been tasked with escorting the released hostages back into Israel were given detailed instructions by the Israel Defense Forces. The instructions, which circulated on social media, tell the soldiers to ask the children if they are hot or thirsty, to ask permission before hugging or lifting the children and to defer questions about where their family members are until later.
For the families of the hostages, the news that some could be released is complicated. The families have operated as a single lobbying force since shortly after Oct. 7. Now, if the release happens as anticipated, they will be divided into those whose hopes have been fulfilled and those who are still waiting.
Natali Madmon’s 77-year-old mother, Ofelia Roitman, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, along with 15 of her neighbors. She was injured at the time and was taken without her epilepsy medication; now, she could well be among the 50 hostages expected to be released during the four days of the planned truce.
Madmon said she had thought about the order in which the hostages are released. “I’ll answer what my mother would say: She’d want the children out first, for sure,” she said. “I hope they won’t forget the elderly either, who are kind of in a second childhood.”
But she said she would not dismantle a display she had set up in Nir Oz’s dining hall, showing all of the kibbutz’s missing and dead as if they were seated at the tables, until everyone was accounted for.
“If they don’t give back the hostages the dining hall will remain like this forever,” Madmon said.
The mailboxes at Kibbutz Nir Oz are marked red for those who were murdered on Oct. 7, black for those taken hostage. (Deborah Danan)
Some in Israel oppose the hostage deal, saying that it rewards terror and incentivizes Hamas to take captives in the future. They also are concerned that a pause in fighting could allow Hamas to regroup and evade the IDF’s advances.
Madmon said she wasn’t worried that a truce could compromise Israel’s stated mission to destroy Hamas.
“They should give whatever needs to be given to make sure the hostages get home,” she said. “And only after they should deal with everything else. I have total confidence that our army will know what to do then.”
Renana Jacob’s two sons were taken hostage from Nir Oz. The last thing she heard her younger son, Yigal, say by phone was, “You can’t take me. I’m too young.” He turned 13 while in captivity, appearing at one point in a video shared by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Jacob hasn’t seen the video. On Wednesday, she said, “I am very hopeful my sons will return soon — and hopeful that all hostages will be released in the near future.”
Benny Avigad’s brother was killed at Nir Oz. No one in his family was taken hostage, but he said the kibbutz was like a family.
“I want all the people to come back,” he said. “Here we know everyone, from the 9 months old to the 85 year old. It’s a small community. So we will be maybe a little happy for a moment, the children and the wives are coming back, but what about the rest?”
He added, “For us, the living, this is the most important thing. We will not continue thinking about coming back here until the situation is finished and all the kidnapped are back here.”
Families of the Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza march along with hundreds of Israelis towards the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, as part of a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages, Nov. 18, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Their comments echo that of the group that has been fighting for the captives, spearheading a global effort to keep their names and faces in public view through “Kidnapped” posters, demonstrations and creative public displays.
“There is no victory until every last hostage returns home,” the group said in a statement late Wednesday. “The Hostages and Missing Families Forum is working to support the release process of those now returning, pressing on until total liberation comes. We will not rest until every individual is home safely, after 47 days deprived of freedom and peace.”
Shortly after the statement, the Israeli government announced the delay. If hostages are released on Friday, it would be after 49 days in captivity.
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UN Data: Nearly 90 Percent of Gaza Aid ‘Intercepted’ Before Reaching Intended Recipients
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients, newly released data from the United Nations shows, fueling growing concerns among Israeli officials and international observers about systemic aid diversion by armed groups in the enclave.
According to figures tracking humanitarian assistance for Gaza from May 19 to Aug. 1 of this year, out of the 2,010 UN trucks (carrying 27,434 tons of aid) collected from any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter, only 260 trucks (4,111 tons) reached their intended destination. That equates to a staggering 87 percent of all trucks and 85 percent of all tonnage of aid being stolen and not getting into the hands of civilians at the intended destination.
The UN’s own data, posted on the website of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) as part of the “UN2720 Monitoring & Tracking Dashboard,” reveals that almost all the aid — 1,753 trucks (23,353 tons) — has been “intercepted, either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors” while being transported inside Gaza over the past few months.
No breakdown is provided of how much aid has been seized by armed groups versus civilians.
The data also shows that much of the UN aid offloaded at any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter has not been collected to enter the war-torn enclave during this period. Out of 40,012 tons of aid (2,134 trucks) being delivered to the crossings, just 27,434 tons (2010 trucks) have been picked up. It’s unclear what exactly led to this discrepancy, with issues such as poor internal coordination and security concerns potentially delaying aid shipments.
The UN2720 mechanism, created earlier this year, was intended to boost transparency by verifying and tracking aid shipments via QR codes at key checkpoints. The system monitors each pallet from offloading to delivery and flags any discrepancies in a centralized database.
Israel has facilitated the entry of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, with Israeli officials condemning the UN and other international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies, noting much of the humanitarian assistance has been stalled at border crossings or stolen by the ruling Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
On Sunday, Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Arab and European countries began airdropping supplies into the enclave.
However, the UN and several Western governments have increased pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, blaming the Jewish state for what they described as a hunger crisis and insufficient amounts of aid reaching civilians.
Israeli officials have said that claims of mass starvation in Gaza are false and being amplified by not only Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, but also international humanitarian organizations and media organizations to manipulate global opinion.
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Dutch Nurse Under Police Investigation for Alleged Threats Against Israeli Patients
Pro-Hamas demonstrators march in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez
A Muslim nurse in the Netherlands is under police investigation after allegedly threatening to administer lethal injections to Israeli patients — an incident that has sparked public outrage and intensified fears over rising antisemitism and patient safety in Europe’s health-care systems.
The comments were widely circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who also exposed a recent case in Australia where two nurses were suspended for two years over antisemitic threats and remarks.
In a video shared on social media, Veifer denounced Dutch-Muslim nurse Batisma Chayat Sa’id’s remarks as a serious violation of medical ethics.
“Someone like that should be prosecuted and barred from treating patients. Imagine your grandparents being cared for by someone so hateful,” the Israeli influencer said.
Zorgwekkende dreiging op Instagram: Nederlandse verpleegkundige is bereid om “zionisten een extra spuitje te geven” en bereid “zionisten te laten sterven binnen de gezondheidszorg.” pic.twitter.com/xTnXNi1wH5
— CIDI
(@CIDI_nieuws) July 29, 2025
The incident was sparked when an Israeli-Dutch woman living in the Netherlands commented on a social media post by far-right politician Geert Wilders, who cautioned about what he called the country’s looming radical Islamization by 2050.
A social media account belonging to the Muslim nurse also commented on the post, claiming it would happen by 2027, to which the Israeli woman responded, “Your dream is our nightmare. But people wake up from nightmares. Our Netherlands, our Israel.”
“Nothing belongs to you! My grandparents built the Netherlands. I was born and raised here, and I will do everything in my power to help this country get rid of the Zionist cancer,” the nurse further replied.
“You know what I’m doing with Zionists — giving an extra injection as a nurse specialist. Letting them go to heaven!” Sa’id continued.
When the Israeli woman threatened to report her, Sa’id replied: “Haha, try your best! I don’t have a boss — I’m the boss! All Zionists can die, inside healthcare and beyond, and I’m happy to help with that!”
Shortly after her posts gained widespread attention, Sa’id deleted all her social media accounts, insisting that her identity had been stolen and that she was not responsible for such comments.
On Wednesday, local police detained Sa’id for questioning, but she denied the allegations, asserting that someone had impersonated her online.
“It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” the nurse said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Even after announcing plans to file an identity theft complaint, she faces skepticism from authorities, who have assigned a digital forensics expert to scrutinize her online accounts.
Last year, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
Earlier this year, two Australian nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — gained international attention after they were seen in an online video posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements during a night-shift conversation with Veifer.
The widely circulated footage, which sparked international outrage and condemnation, showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide.
They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
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French Authorities Halt Gaza Evacuations After Palestinian Student Expelled Over Viral Antisemitic Posts
Anti-Israel demonstration supporting the BDS movement, Paris France, June 8, 2024. Photo: Claire Serie / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
French authorities have halted evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student was expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille and placed under investigation, following the viral circulation of hundreds of antisemitic posts praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and calling for the murder of Jews.
The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that all further evacuations from Gaza would be suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the student’s background.
After receiving a scholarship, 25-year-old Nour Atalla, a Palestinian from Gaza, arrived in the country in early July to begin her master’s degree in law and communications this fall at the Institute of Political Science in Lille, northern France.
Barrot confirmed that discussions are ongoing about the student’s possible return to Gaza, making clear that she must leave the country pending the investigation’s outcome.
“She has no place at Sciences Po, nor in France,” the top French diplomat said.
On Thursday, local authorities reported that a criminal investigation is underway into Atalla, with the public prosecutor in Lille confirming the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”
Barrot admitted lapses in the screening process that allowed her entry and has mandated a comprehensive review of everyone evacuated from Gaza to France.
“The security checks, carried out by the French services and Israeli authorities, did not detect the antisemitic content,” the French diplomat said.
Atalla is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.
She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille University based on “academic excellence” and following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, the university announced it had revoked Atalla’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.
In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
In one post, Atalla shared a video of Hitler giving a speech about Jews, writing, “Kill their young and their old. Show them no mercy … And kill them everywhere.”
In another post shared on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, she wrote, “We must do everything we can to match the bloodshed — as much as possible.”