In a week filled with hope and heartbreak, Hamas announced that the next group of hostages would be released this coming Sunday, a day later than expected under the recently agreed ceasefire. The delay is a sobering reminder of the fragility of peace in the region, and a call for Modern-Day Esthers to remain vigilant in prayer and action.
As Nahed Al-Fakhouri of Hamas’s prisoner media office stated, “The actual implementation will be carried out on Sunday.” While this brings some relief, it also underscores the complexity and sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations. The ceasefire deal, which began earlier this month, aims to bring an end to the 15-month war in Gaza, releasing Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained for involvement in terrorist activities.
Hope in Adversity
Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7, 2023, marked the start of this conflict, leaving 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage. Israel’s response—a...
The ceasefire with the Hamas terrorist organization will come into effect at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, with the first three hostages—women—set to be freed from Gazan captivity sometime after 4 p.m.
Israel estimates that 25 of the 33 people on the list of hostages to be returned in the first stage of the ceasefire agreement are alive.
According to the Justice Ministry, Israel will release 1,904 Palestinian terrorists in the first stage: 737 prisoners and administrative detainees—among them killers with blood on their hands—and 1,167 residents of the Gaza Strip not involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
As of Saturday evening, Israel had yet to receive the names of the first three hostages that Hamas will release on Sunday, in an apparent violation of the agreement that requires the terrorist group to inform Israeli authorities of the names 24...
(Jan. 16, 2025 / JNS)
The hostage deal with Hamas is on, Aryeh Deri, the chairman of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Shas Party who previously served as an observer on the War Cabinet, announced on Thursday night.
“A few minutes ago, I received the final word that all obstacles have been overcome and that the agreement is underway,” the Sephardic haredi politician declared in a speech at his party’s annual conference in Jerusalem. “Now they are working on the final technical wording.
“I want to congratulate Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu; he is responsible for the agreement,” Deri told attendees.
Minutes after Deri’s announcement, the Axios news outlet cited a U.S. government source as confirming that the final disputes holding up the ceasefire-for-hostages-and-terrorists-release deal were resolved, “and the...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a bold stand during his recent visit to Gaza, issuing an ultimatum to Hamas and an unexpected offer to those willing to help free the hostages still held in captivity. Standing along the Mediterranean shore in the war-torn Netzarim Corridor, Netanyahu declared:
"Anyone who dares to harm our hostages will have blood on their head. We will hunt you down and get you."
However, the Israeli leader also extended an olive branch of sorts to those holding captives:
"Whoever brings us a hostage will be given a safe way, for him and his family, to leave. We will also give a reward of $5 million for each kidnapped person. You choose — the choice is yours — but the result will be the same. We’ll get them all back."
This unprecedented offer underscores the urgency of Israel’s mission to bring home the 101 remaining hostages, a campaign Defense Minister Israel Katz described as Israel’s “most important...
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