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Three Israeli Hostages, Five Thais Slated for Release on Thursday

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas gather to demand a deal that will bring back all the hostages held in Gaza, outside a meeting between hostage representatives and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

JNS.org — Israel received from Hamas a list of three Israeli hostages and five Thai captives expected to be released on Thursday, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan News reported on Wednesday.

The three Israeli hostages are two women — Arbel Yehud, 29, a civilian, and Agam Berger, 20, an IDF lookout — and a male hostage, 80-year-old Gadi Mozes. Mozes was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz with his wife, Margalit, who was one of the first hostages freed on Nov. 24, 2023.

Only men wounded, ill, or age 50 and up are expected to be freed in the first phase of the deal.

On Saturday, Hamas failed to provide a list detailing the status of the hostages slated to be released in the initial stage, as required by the terms of the ceasefire deal, prompting Jerusalem to postpone the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza. On Monday morning, they were allowed to return.

Hamas further violated the agreement by not freeing female civilians first. Instead of releasing Yehud, the terror group released four female soldiers on Saturday: Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19.

Yehud was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. Cunio, 27, is presumed to be alive but is not listed among those to be released in the first phase of the agreement.

Arbel’s brother, Dolev, was considered a hostage until his body was found on the kibbutz nine months after the massacre perpetrated in southern Israel by Hamas and Palestinian operatives.

Shiri Bibas, 33, another female civilian hostage, and her two young sons are on the list of hostages to be released during the first phase. However, Hamas claimed in November that they had been killed.

Some of the families of hostages scheduled to be freed have been informed that there are fears for their loved ones’ lives after Hamas provided Israel with information on the captives on Monday. The list did not specify the status of individuals, and instead only included an overall number of captives claimed to be alive.

While Israeli officials are unable to provide relatives with definitive news regarding the possible deaths of their loved ones, the numbers were said to match the intelligence Jerusalem already possessed.

Three civilian women — Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher — were released on Jan. 19 in return for 90 terrorists (30 for each civilian) shortly after the ceasefire went into effect.

The post Three Israeli Hostages, Five Thais Slated for Release on Thursday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Netflix Premieres Adult Animated Comedy Series About Jewish Family

A scene from “Long Story Short.” Photo: Screenshot

Netflix premiered on Friday an adult animated comedy series from “BoJack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg that follows a Jewish family over the course of several decades.

“Long Story Short” revolves around Naomi Schwartz (Lisa Edelstein), Elliot Cooper (Paul Reiser), and their three children – Avi (Ben Feldman), Shira (Abbi Jacobson), and Yoshi (Max Greenfield). The series jumps between time, and viewers follow the Schwooper siblings “from childhood to adulthood and back again, chronicling their triumphs, disappointments, joys, and compromises,” according to a synopsis provided by Netflix.

The extended cast includes Nicole Byer as Shira’s partner and Angelique Cabral. Dave Franco and Michaela Dietz are recurring guest stars. The first episode starts in 1996 and focuses on Avi bringing his girlfriend home to meet his family the same weekend as Yoshi’s bar mitzvah celebration. The episode also addresses Jewish-related topics such as the laws of kosher and the Holocaust.

“I think the show in some ways is about Jewish joy, and I think a lot of Jews will enjoy having a place for the Jews, and I think a lot of antisemites might learn a thing or two,” Bob-Waksberg told Variety on Monday at the show’s premiere at the Tudum Theater in Hollywood, California.

“Long Story Short” – which is Bob-Waksberg’s fourth animated show (“BoJack Horseman,” “Undone,” and “Tuca & Bertie”) and his third with Netflix – was renewed for a second season ahead of its season one premiere. The showrunner told The Hollywood Reporter that “Long Story Short” is “absolutely the most explicitly Jewish thing by a wide margin.”

The show is already facing antisemitic criticism.

“We’ve never not had antisemitism,” he told Variety. “The harassment is already there. I don’t think there’s a Jew in Hollywood, a public, a visible person that doesn’t get constantly harassed on Instagram all day long. An article came out this morning, it was a profile of the show, and I stupidly skimmed the first few comments and they were all … just nothing I want to repeat. But it’s just a buzzkill.”

“People are going to want to talk about the greater global geopolitical issues that are happening around this show, but this show is not about that,” he added.

“Long Story Short” is also from “Samurai Jack” creator Genndy Tartakovsky and “Rick and Morty” writer Matt Roller. Bob-Waksberg is an executive producer alongside Noel Bright and Steven A. Cohen. Corey Campodonico and Alex Bulkley are co-executive producers.

Watch the trailer for “Long Story Short” below.



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Iran, European Powers Agree to Resume Nuclear, Sanctions Talks Next Week

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his French, British, and German counterparts agreed on Friday to resume talks next week on nuclear and sanctions issues, Iranian state media reported.

The three major European powers have threatened to re-activate United Nations sanctions on Iran under a “snapback” mechanism if Tehran does not return to negotiations on a deal to curb its disputed uranium enrichment program.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul confirmed talks next week and warned Iran that sanctions would snap back into effect unless it reached a verifiable and durable deal to defuse concerns about its nuclear ambitions. He reiterated that time was very short and Iran needed to engage substantively.

Iranian state media said Araqchi and the British, French, and German foreign ministers agreed during a phone call for deputy foreign ministers to continue the talks on Tuesday.

During the call, Araqchi “emphasized the legal and moral incompetence of these countries to resort to the [snapback] mechanism, and warned of the consequences of such an action,” Iranian media reported.

The European trio, along with the US, contend that Iran is using the nuclear energy program to potentially develop weapons capability in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran says it seeks only civilian nuclear power.

The Islamic Republic suspended nuclear negotiations with the United States, which were aimed at curbing its accelerating enrichment program, after the US and Israel bombed its nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June.

Since then, inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, have been unable to access Iran‘s nuclear installations, despite IAEA chief Rafael Grossi stating that inspections remain essential.

Iran and the three European powers last convened in Geneva on June 20, while the war was still raging, and there were few signs of progress.

Iran‘s state broadcaster said an Iranian delegation was due to travel to Vienna on Friday to meet with IAEA officials. It gave no further details.

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German Government Calls Recognition of Palestinian State ‘Counterproductive’

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister in Turku, Finland, on May 27, 2025. Photo: Lehtikuva/Roni Rekomaa via REUTERS

A German government spokesman said on Friday that Berlin has no current plans to recognize a Palestinian state because that would undermine any efforts to reach a negotiated two-state solution with Israel.

“A negotiated two-state solution remains our goal, even if it seems a long way off today … The recognition of Palestine is more likely to come at the end of such a process, and such decisions would now be rather counterproductive,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.

Countries including Australia, United Kingdom, France, and Canada have recently said they would recognize a Palestinian state under different conditions.

Israel has responded that such recognition would be a “reward” for terrorism following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel. During the ensuing war in Gaza, Hamas has embedded its weapons and military operation centers among civilian sites, a strategy that critics have decried as employing the use of “human shields” against Israel.

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