Mixed feelings after the release of the first hostages
After 49 days in the hands of Hamas, 24 women and children abducted in the Gaza Strip are back in Israel. They include a mother with German citizenship and her two young daughters. Those released appear to be in good physical condition at least.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks of a "day of hope", but not of "breathing a sigh of relief": at the start of a four-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a first group of 24 Hamas hostages have been released, including ten Thai and one Filipino citizen. Among the 13 Israeli hostages were four dual nationals with German citizenship. Baerbock expressed her "immense relief". However, it is now crucial "that everyone adheres to the agreements made and that more hostages are released in the next few days", the minister emphasized. "The release of all remaining hostages, especially the Germans among them, remains our top priority."
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed similar sentiments: "It is good news that the first group of hostages has finally been released. We can hardly fathom what they and their families have had to go through in recent weeks," he explained on X. However, this could only be a start. Hamas must release all hostages unconditionally.
The released German dual nationals are 77-year-old Margalit Moses and the family of Yoni Asher. The 37-year-old traveled to Berlin at the end of October to draw attention to the fate of the hostages. His wife, 34-year-old Doron Katz-Asher, and their two daughters, aged two and four, had - like Moses - been abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where they had been visiting Doron's mother. Asher saw videos of the Hamas terrorists taking his family away in a pickup truck. He only wants to celebrate when all the hostages are free, said Yoni Asher in a video that was distributed on X.
"That after 49 days of the hell of unbelievable fear, a father can finally hold his two little daughters and his wife safely in his arms again. We - the German government - are enormously grateful to all those who have contributed to this, who have moved mountains," said Baerbock.
Biden calls for an extension of the ceasefire
The released hostages were taken to hospitals in Israel, where they were medically examined and then received by their relatives. According to the medical authorities in Israel, the physical condition of the released hostages appears to be good. The agreement between Israel and Hamas provides for a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners to be released during the initial four-day ceasefire. According to an insider, the release of the Thais was not part of the ceasefire agreement, but was negotiated independently - also under the mediation of Qatar and Egypt. In the evening, Israel received a list with the names of the 13 hostages who are to be released in the course of Saturday. Eight of them are said to be children. The families have been informed, reported the Israeli portal Ynet, among others, citing the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, he declared that his government was "determined to return all our hostages".
US President Joe Biden expressed his relief: "Today's release is the beginning of a process," said the US President in a speech. He expected more hostages to be released on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. "We expect dozens of hostages to be returned to their families in the coming days." Biden called for the ceasefire, which was initially set to last four days, to be extended. Israel had agreed to do so if Hamas released at least ten more hostages every day. "The chances are real," said Biden. He also spoke in favor of striving for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. "As we look to the future, we must break the cycle of violence in the Middle East," said Biden. "We must renew our determination to seek that two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians can one day live side by side (...) with an equal measure of freedom and dignity."
Rejoicing in the West Bank
In exchange for the released Hamas hostages, Israel released a total of 39 Palestinian prisoners, 24 women and 15 teenagers. According to witnesses, the families of at least three of them were raided by Israeli police before their release. The police did not comment on this. In the occupied West Bank, the arrival of 28 released prisoners was celebrated with fireworks, as reported by an AFP reporter. Eleven more Palestinians were taken to the annexed eastern part of Jerusalem.
In Tel Aviv, smiling faces of freed hostages were projected onto the facade of a museum. At the same time, many relatives continued to worry about their relatives who are still being held by Hamas. "13 people are released every day, and then what?" asked Harosh Menashe, whose cousin is among the hostages. "We have to free everyone, we can't leave anyone there."
The ceasefire, which came into force at 06:00 (CET) on Friday, gave the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip a reprieve for the first time since the war began almost seven weeks ago. When the air strikes stopped in the morning, thousands of people in the Gaza Strip who had fled to the border with Egypt were preparing to return to their villages. Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets over the southern Gaza Strip warning people not to return to the north of the coastal strip. "The war is not over yet", they said.
The ceasefire is also intended to be used for an expansion of humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli sources, 200 trucks carrying aid arrived there on Friday; according to the United Nations Office for Emergency Relief (Ocha), 137 have been unloaded so far. It was the largest humanitarian convoy to reach the Palestinian territory since the start of the war.
The release of the German dual nationals, including Margalit Moses and the Asher family, brings mixed emotions to the Israeli public, as they rejoice in their safe return while still holding concerns for the remaining hostages trapped in the Gaza Strip under Hamas' control. The international community, including US President Joe Biden, calls for an extension of the ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages, as part of a broader goal for a two-state solution in the Middle East conflict.
Source: www.ntv.de
