NOVEMBER 29, 2023
Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, Nov. 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. – Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
A four-day cease-fire between Hamas and Israel has been extended by two days, Qatari officials announced on Monday.
Dozens of the more than 200 people taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel and held in the war-torn Gaza Strip for nearly two months were released over the last few days during the truce. During the cease-fire, Hamas has freed 81 of the hostages in exchange for 180 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons.
Latest Developments
‘All my dreams were shattered,’ bride in Gaza says
A young couple from southern Gaza planned to marry on Oct. 8 — but the Israel-Hamas war changed all that.
The house they were going to live in was destroyed by Israeli bombs.
The couple — not yet married — spoke to ABC News as they sifted through the rubble, trying to salvage whatever they could.
“How do I feel? Sad. I wanted to be like any bride, to have a house,” Heba Abu Taima told ABC News. “Everything was beautiful before the 7th of October. After the 7th of October, everything ended.”
Israeli soldiers walk past Palestinians fleeing the north along the Salaheddine road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza City, Nov. 28, 2023. – Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
“All my dreams were shattered,” she continued. “Everything in the house is gone, the house in which we planned to have a sweet and happy life is gone.”
“I dreamed of beautiful things, for example, children,” said her fiancé, Saif Abu Taima. “I used to say, ‘Boy,’ and she used to say, ‘No, girl.’ And we also used to go out and [I’d] tell her, ‘We will live a beautiful life and achieve our beautiful dream.'”
She added, “We desperately want to live in safety like other countries. To have a good life, to live freely and in peace.”
-ABC News’ Sami Zayara
UN calls for ‘irreversible’ move toward 2-state solution
Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the United Nations at Geneva, is calling for an “irreversible” move toward a two-state solution.
“We must be united in demanding an end to the occupation and the blockade of Gaza,” Valovaya said. “It is long past time to move in a determined, irreversible way towards a two-state solution, on the basis of United Nations resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.”
Hamas says it released 2 Russian female hostages
Hamas officials said on Wednesday that they’ve released two female Russian hostages.
“They were handed over to the Red Cross a short while ago as a prelude to handing them over to representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry,” Hamas said in a statement via Telegram.
Hamas claims 3 hostages, including 10-month-old, were killed by previous Israeli strikes on Gaza
Hamas’ military wing al-Qassam Brigades alleged Wednesday that three hostages have died as a result of the Israeli military’s previous bombings in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement posted on a Telegram channel associated with the al-Qassam Brigades, the slain hostages were identified as Shiri Silverman Bibas, Kfir Bibas and Ariel Bibas. It was unclear when the trio had allegedly died and ABC News was unable to verify the claim.
Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother Yarden was taken hostage with his wife Shiri and 2 children Kfir and Ariel holds with her friend Tal Ulus pictures of them during an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 13, 2023. – Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Several members of the Bibas family, including 32-year-old Shiri, her 4-year-old son Ariel and her 10-month-old son Kfir, were kidnapped from their kibbutz in southern Israel during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 and taken hostage to Gaza, according to relatives and Israeli authorities.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement Wednesday that it is investigating the reports of their deaths.
“IDF representatives spoke with the Bibas family following the recent reports and are with them at this difficult time. The IDF is assessing the accuracy of the information,” the IDF said. “Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be held accountable.”
In a statement obtained by ABC News, the Bibas family said Wednesday that they are “updated on the latest Hamas publication.”
“We are waiting for the news to be confirmed or hopefully refuted soon by military officials,” the family added. “We thank the people of Israel for the warm embrace but ask to maintain our privacy at this complex time.”
-ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy, Anna Brund, Jordana Miller, Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor
Returned hostages not in immediate danger: Israel hospital director
Itai Pessach, director of Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital at Sheba Medical Center, praised the newly released hostages who arrived at the hospital Tuesday, calling them “extraordinary women” who “endured the hardships of their captivity in a remarkable fashion.”
Hostages who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel, are handed over by Hamas militants to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 28, 2023. – Al-qassam Brigades via Reuters
“Some of them had complex underlying illnesses and some suffered injuries when they were abducted or during their time in captivity,” Pessach said. “They will need further medical treatment and attention, but there’s no immediate danger to any of them.”
Twelve hostages were released on Tuesday in the most recent prisoner swap: 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals from Thailand. Nine of the Israelis were women. One was a 17-year-old girl, Maya, and her dog, Bella.
A hostage who was abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel holds a dog while she and others are handed over by Hamas militants to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 28, 2023. – Al-qassam Brigades via Reuters
Pessach called Maya “a very brave young woman. “
“Bella also was examined last night by the veterinarian service of the Sheba Medical Center, and she’s also fine, and she would stay with Maya for as long as she needs while they are still here,” Pessach said.
Israel receives list of hostages to be released Wednesday, notifies families
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that it has received the list of hostages due to be released by militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
The families of the hostages on Wednesday’s list have all been notified, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said.
The truce between Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel is set to expire on Thursday morning, but the possibility of extending it further is reportedly under negotiation.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor
Israeli forces allegedly kill 2 Palestinian children in West Bank
Two Palestinian children were allegedly gunned down by Israeli soldiers operating in the militant stronghold of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials.
The Palestinian Authority, the Fatah-led governing body that oversees parts of the West Bank, identified the two victims as an 8-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy who it said “were killed by occupation bullets in Jenin.”
Palestinians check damage following a raid in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Nov. 29, 2023. – Raneen Sawafta/Reuters
The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed that its crews had transported the younger child from Jenin’s al-Basateen neighborhood before he was pronounced dead.
Surveillance footage reviewed by ABC News purportedly shows the moment both boys were shot, but the perpetrators were out of sight.
ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
An Israeli military vehicle maneuvers on a road during a raid in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Nov. 29, 2023. – Raneen Sawafta/Reuters
The alleged incidents occurred as the Israeli military carried out hours long raids on the Jenin refugee camp.
Deadly violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas, the rival Palestinian faction that governs the Gaza Strip, carried out an unprecedented attack on neighboring Israel on Oct. 7, prompting Israeli forces to retaliate.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta and Morgan Winsor
Cease-fire is ‘matter of life or death’ for 1.3 million displaced in Gaza, WHO warns
Approximately 1.3 million people are currently living in shelters in the war-torn Gaza Strip, according to head of the World Health Organization, who warned Wednesday that “a sustained ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas is “a matter of life or death for civilians” in Gaza.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “overcrowding and lack of food, water, sanitation and basic hygiene, waste management and access to medication are resulting in a high number of cases of” various contagious diseases, including 111,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, 12,000 cases of scabies, 11,000 cases of lice, 75,000 cases of diarrhoea, 24,00 cases of skin rash, 2,500 cases of impetigo, 2,500 cases of chickenpox and 1,100 cases of jaundice.
“On top of all this: heightened risk of disease outbreaks,” Tedros wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Given the living conditions and lack of health care, more people could die from disease than bombings,” he added. “We need a sustained ceasefire. NOW. It’s a matter of life or death for civilians.”
Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory governed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, is home to more than 2 million people.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Israel says 161 hostages, including children, remain in Gaza
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday that 161 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip.
Of the 161 remaining hostages, 126 are male and 35 are female. Among them are 146 Israelis and 15 foreigners, including Americans. Ten of them are age 75 and older, four are 18 or 19, and four are under the age of 18, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
So far, 86 hostages — 66 Israelis and 20 foreigners — have been freed since last Friday in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinians from Israeli prisons as part of a cease-fire agreement between Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel. Another prisoner swap is expected to take place Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor
America’s top hostage negotiator travels to Israel
The United States’ Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, often referred to as the country’s top hostage negotiator, will travel to Israel on Wednesday, according to a senior official in the U.S. Department of State.
The official said that Carstens “will support Secretary Blinken’s visit to the region, meet with Israeli government counterparts and visit the families of Americans held hostage in Gaza.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday night.
It will be Carstens’ first known trip to Israel since Oct. 7, when Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel and took hundreds of people hostage back to the neighboring Gaza Strip. Carsten’s deputy, Steven Gillen, visited Israel shortly after the war broke out and has spent a substantial amount time in the region during the weeks that followed, largely coordinating with Israeli officials on efforts to free the hostages.
Earlier this month, Carstens met with family members of some of the hostages in Washington, D.C.
Courtesy: ABC News
