A second group of 17 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza since being kidnapped by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel were released late Saturday night after an hours-long delay as part of the short-term cease-fire agreement brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt. In exchange, another 39 Palestinian woman and children jailed in Israel were also freed.
There were 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. There were seven Israeli children ranging in age from 3 to 16, and six Israeli women ranging in age from 18 to 67 released, the office announced.
Among those freed was 9-year-old Emily Hand, an Israeli-Irish girl who was initially believed to have been killed by Hamas.
“Emily has come back to us! We can’t find the words to describe our emotions after 50 challenging and complicated days,” her family said in a statement to CBS News.
Another of those released Saturday was a teen girl whose mother is still being held captive, and a 21-year-old woman who was abducted from the Supernova music festival, where at least 260 people were slaughtered in Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage. Two teen siblings whose mother was killed by Hamas were also freed.
Abigail Mor Edan, the youngest U.S. citizen held by Hamas, was among the group of hostages released back to Israel on Sunday, both President Biden and the Israeli military confirmed.
Read more at CBSnews.com
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