Defense Ministry says it seized cash in Strip * 13 Israeli, 4 Thai abductees released Saturday are treated in Israeli hospitals * Hamas delayed their release for hours
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.
IDF says 4 dogs from Oketz canine unit killed in Gaza battles with Hamas
The Israel Defense Forces releases footage of the Oketz canine unit’s operations in the Gaza Strip during the fighting in recent weeks.
It says the unit’s dogs had been involved with helping locate Hamas operatives, explosives and weapons, as well as the hostages and bodies.
The military says four Oketz dogs were killed during the battles with Hamas: Mido, Taiga, Jack, and Ghandi.
Gantz slams Irish PM for comments on Gaza hostage Emily Hand, 9, being ‘lost’ and ‘found’
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz pans remarks by the Irish prime minister that a 9 year old former hostage was “lost” and then “found,” upon her Saturday release from 50 days in Palestinian terrorist captivity.
“Emily was never ‘Lost’ – she was brutally kidnapped and held hostage by terrorist Hamas,” Gantz writes on X, in response to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s statement upon the release of Israeli-Irish citizen Emily Hand.
Hand was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri while at a sleepover, and was presumed dead before later being confirmed as one of the 240 hostages taken into the Gaza Strip on October 7.
“After 50 days held hostage in Gaza and while celebrating her 9th birthday surrounded by Hamas terrorists armed with Kalashnikovs and knives, after her father mourned her loss in front of the whole world, her father will now need to tell Emily that her stepmother was murdered by those same Hamas terrorists only 6 years after losing her biological mother to cancer,” Gantz continues.
Gantz’s remarks join condemnations by other Israeli officials.
Hamas confirms senior commanders killed in earlier Gaza fighting
The Hamas terror group confirms the deaths of several senior commanders who were targeted by Israel during the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
It says Ahmed Ghandour, the commander of its northern Gaza brigade; Ayman Siam, the head of Hamas’s rocket firing array; and Wael Rajab and Raafat Salman were killed.
The IDF had previously said it had targeted Ghandour and Siam, but did not confirm they had been killed.
Defense Ministry announces it seized NIS 5 million in cash in Gaza
The Defense Ministry announces that during operations in the Gaza Strip, forces seized some NIS 5 million in cash (approximately $1.3 million), along with Iraqi dinars, Jordanian dinars, and US dollars.
The cash was seized from Hamas strongholds and homes of terror operatives.
The money will be “forfeited for the state,” the ministry adds.
IDF chief: Military will resume fighting ‘with determination’ at end of current lull
In a missive to troops, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military will return to fighting Hamas “with determination” once the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip ends.
“The IDF and its soldiers fight fiercely to protect the lives of our people while upholding the values of the IDF. We created conditions for the framework of the release of the first group of hostage children and mothers [that is taking place] during this pause” in the fighting, writes Halevi.
“When the framework is completed, we will return to our operations with determination, for the continued release of the hostages and the complete dismantlement of Hamas,” he continues.
“I met many of you at the end of long hours of fighting both above and underground, facing complex challenges. In every encounter, I saw reflected in your eyes the magnitude of the moment, the fighting spirit and determination to achieve all the objectives of the war,” Halevi says. “I heard you tell me: ‘We want to fight until we return the hostages.’ And so we are doing just that!”
FM Cohen slams Irish PM for saying released Gaza hostage was ‘found’ after she was ‘lost’
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen chides Ireland’s prime minister for saying that an Israeli-Irish child hostage was “found” after she was “lost,” after she was released yesterday by Hamas, 50 days into her captivity.
In a post on X directed at Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Cohen writes: “It seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check!”
Emily Hand, 9, was originally presumed dead after Hamas attacked Kibbutz Be’eri as part of its October 7 rampage against Israel’s southern communities and a large outdoor music festival, killing some 1,200 people, the majority civilians.
Hand was later confirmed to be among the 240 hostages taken that day to the Gaza Strip.
“Emily Hand was not ‘lost,’ she was kidnapped by a terror organization worse than ISIS that murdered her stepmother,” Cohen continues.
“Emily and more than 30 other Israeli children were taken hostage by Hamas, and you are trying to legitimize and normalize terror. Shame on you!” he adds.
Reports: Qatar says 13 Israeli women and children to be released by Hamas this evening, along with 7 foreign nationals
Qatar reportedly says another 13 children and women will be freed by the Hamas terror group later today, after 51 days held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
As part of a separate agreement, seven foreign nationals will also be set free, Doha says, according to Hebrew-language reports.
Israel will free 39 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
There is no official Israeli announcement on the matter, but the Ynet news site and Army Radio say that Israeli officials confirmed they are expecting 13 Israelis to be released.
Twenty-six people have been released so far as part of the agreement, which has also seen a pause in fighting, humanitarian aid entering the Strip, and three Palestinian prisoners released for every hostage set free.
Emily Hand’s dad vows to throw her the ‘biggest birthday ever’ after she turned 9 while hostage in Gaza
The father of Emily Hand, who turned nine while held hostage in the Gaza Strip, vows to throw her the “biggest birthday party ever” after she was released yesterday.
Events were held by supporters around the world to mark her birthday.
Thomas Hand also tells the Daily Mail that he was scared to hug his daughter too tightly when he saw her for the first time.
Emily was at a sleepover at a friend’s house at the time of the Hamas assault on October 7. She was initially reported killed, but it was later announced that she was among those held hostage in Gaza.
Emily’s mother died of cancer several years ago.
Released hostage Maya Regev in moderate condition, will undergo a series of surgeries
Soroka Medical Center director Dr. Shlomi Kodesh says that a hostage who was released by the Hamas terror group last night, remains in moderate condition.
Maya Regev, 21, was taken straight to the hospital after she arrived back in Israel — all the other hostages were taken to other medical centers.
Regev will undergo a series of surgeries and is expected to recover fully.
She was kidnapped by Hamas from the Supernova music festival near Re’im during the October 7 onslaught.
Regev was there with her brother Itay, 18, who was also taken hostage but was not released with her.
Kibbutz Be’eri: Hamas ‘grossly violated’ hostage deal by releasing child without her mother
Kibbutz Be’eri, where 12 of the 13 hostages released last night were kidnapped from on October 7, says that while the community was “happy and excited” about the return of the hostages, Hamas violated the terms of the deal when it released 13-year-old Hila Rotem without her mother, Raya.
“Hila is returning home without her mother Raya, who remains in captivity. Hamas grossly violated the agreement, and separated mother and daughter,” the statement says, according to the Walla news site.
“Three children from two families from the kibbutz were torn from their only remaining parent,” the statement says.
Also released last night were 17-year-old Noam Or and his 13-year-old sister, Alma.
Their mother Yonat was murdered by terrorists on October 7, and their father Dror remains hostage in Gaza, along with his 18-year-old nephew Liam.
One of the terms of the agreement with the terror group, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, was that no child should be separated from their mother when released. Despite that, Hamas delayed the release of the hostages last night, claiming that in fact it was Israel that was violating the agreement.
Hospital says 12 of 13 hostages released yesterday don’t need urgent medical attention
The Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan says that 12 of the 13 hostages released from the Gaza Strip yesterday spent the night at the medical center, and that none of them required urgent medical attention.
“After a very long night of anticipation, at around 3:30 a.m., 12 hostages were transferred here, and I am happy to inform you that, although the days of captivity are evident on them, none of them need urgent and immediate intervention,” says children’s hospital chief Prof. Itai Pessach. “We will continue to support them physically and mentally.”
The 13th hostage released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday evening, Maya Regev, is hospitalized at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center.
Regev was the only freed hostage brought to the closer Soroka to undergo immediate medical treatment. Last night, the hospital described her condition as moderate, and said her life isn’t in danger.
Israeli troops arrest Palestinian on suspicion of killing man, son in Huwara August terror attack
Israeli troops arrest Osama Bani Fadl, a wanted Palestinian, on suspicion of killing two men in an August terror attack in the West Bank town of Huwara, the IDF and Shin Bet say in a joint statement
Shay Silas Nigreker, 60, and his 28-year-old son Aviad Nir, residents of Ashdod, were gunned down at a carwash in the town, south of Nablus.
Bani Fadl was arrested in the Jenin refugee camp. The IDF and Shin Bet say he was armed and lying low in a hideout apartment used by local terror operatives.
The suspected terrorist’s home was mapped out for demolition days after the shooting attack.
The IDF adds that other operations are still ongoing in Jenin. Clashes have broken out between Israeli troops and rioters, who threw explosive devices.
