Browsing: War in Israel

The families of Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Omer Sham Tov, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed have been informed that they will be released alive from Hamas captivity this Saturday. Here are their stories as they prepare to leave the horrors of captivity behind. Ziv Abud, the girlfriend of hostage Eliya Cohen, celebrated the news of his return Tuesday, writing on Instagram, “Eliya is coming home!” Cohen had attended the Nova music festival with Abud, his nephew Amit ben Avida, and Amit’s girlfriend, Karin Shwarcman. When the Hamas terror attack began, the four took cover in a rocket shelter…

The National Center for Forensic Medicine officially confirmed Thursday evening that it has identified the body of former hostage Oded Lifshitz, 85, who was murdered in captivity more than a year ago. His family and the Prime Minister’s Office had announced the development earlier in the day, with officials saying that he was killed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the forensic institute, said that forensic teams were working to provide definitive identification of the three other bodies transferred from Hamas custody, which the terrorist group has claimed to be those of Shiri Bibas and her two…

An Israeli American hostage recently freed from Hamas released a powerful message thanking Donald Trump for being the “reason I am home alive” and urged him to bring those remaining in captivity home. Keith Siegel, 65, issued a statement on Friday, February 14, commending the president for his “strength” and “leadership” during the conflict in Gaza while revealing the horrors he faced as a prisoner of Hamas. “Since February 1, I am a newly released Hamas hostage. I’m a survivor. I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions. Every single day felt like it could be my last,” Seigel…

Marking 500 days since the October 7 massacre, the Washington Hebrew Congregation was filled with a national prayer for the return of the hostages due to efforts from the Jewish Federations of North America on Tuesday. Hamas captivity survivors and their family members addressed a crowd of hundreds of people who showed up in support. Among the survivors who presented were Noa Argamani and Ilana Gritzewsky, both of whom have partners who remain in Gaza captivity, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker. In addition, Gal Dalal, brother of hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal, also spoke, in addition to Moshe Lavi, brother-in-law of hostage…

The United Nations and Israeli officials condemned Hamas on Thursday after the terror group publicly displayed the bodies of four Israeli hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called the act “abhorrent” and a violation of international law. “Under international law, any handover of remains must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families,” Türk said in a statement. The hostages, including Israeli infant Kfir Bibas, his 4-year-old brother Ariel, their mother Shiri Bibas and 85-year-old Oded Lifshitz, were…

The Prime Minister’s office announced on Wednesday that Israel has received the list of hostages who died in captivity whose bodies are due to be released on Thursday, pursuant to the framework of the agreement with Hamas. The four murdered hostages who will be returned are Shiri Bibas, her young sons, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz. The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch has updated the families of the hostages via the representatives of the IDF. “At this difficult hour, our hearts are with the grieving families. Additional…

The IDF is preparing for various scenarios as the ceasefire deal with Hamas deteriorates, formulating battle plans based on ground, air, and naval forces, in addition to its other capabilities. Israeli forces have already been reinforced, with more reserve troops called up and left suspended in the Southern Command until further notice. There are no changes in the Home Front instructions, besides a memorial tree-planning event in the south that was canceled. Two IDF divisions are currently in charge of defending Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip—the 162nd and 143rd. Since Monday, the area has been reinforced with regular forces…

With five rounds of hostage-prisoner releases completed in the ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal, there are 17 Israeli hostages still supposed to be set free in the first phase. The three latest hostages who were released from Gaza after 491 days of captivity are suffering from severe physical and mental deterioration, including malnutrition, decreased muscle mass, heart disorders, and prolonged infection, according to health officials quoted by Hebrew media on Sunday. Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi were released by the Hamas terror group Saturday looking gaunt and unsteady on their feet, 16 months after they were kidnapped from…

Yemen’s Houthis will immediately take military action if the US and Israel try to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, the Iran-backed group’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday. An Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza’s devastating 15-month-old war took effect on January 19 but has appeared close to collapse this week amid mutual accusations of violations. US President Donald Trump has infuriated the Arab world by presenting a plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and take over the enclave to turn it into a beach resort. Continue reading this article on jpost.com

Hamas forced the former Israeli hostage Daniella Gilboa to stage and film her own death, her mother Orly revealed in an interview on Wednesday with Israeli Channel 12. Gilboa was one of several female IDF soldiers who were brutally kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from their military base Nahal Oz close to the Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023. “One of the captors simply came with a camera and told her: ‘Today we’re filming you dead.’ She begged for her life and asked him not to do it,” Orly recalled. “When she saw me and my husband for the first time,…