Hostages

[TakeMe2Insanity]

This is running on Al Jazeera and others - apparently Israel refused to take back two hostages.

https://english.alarabiya.net/amp/News/middle-east/2023/10/21/Hamas-says-intended-to-release-two-hostages-but-Israel-refused-to-receive-them

Is it common for people in Gaza [specifically Hamas fighters] to be bi-lingual in Arabic and Hebrew so that they will be able converse with the hostages? I'm guessing not as it's always mentioned that Yeyhar Sinwar speaks Hebrew like it's something unusual/special about him. And Gazans who worked in Israel and might speak some Hebrew had to be certified Hamas-free

@Efacsen from what I have read there was a initiative a couple of years ago to teach Hebrew in schools in Gaza. I don't know if it continued or how successful it was
I am assuming that atleast some of them do

@Parkingt111 that's hopeful - the idea that the child hostages [and adults but particularly the children] wouldn't even be able to communicate with their captors adds another layer of awfulness

@Efacsen it's not a total withdrawal
Some ground forces still remain

Urghhh

Some worrying stuff posted by @queenofarles on another thread about possible breech of the ceasefire by IDF firing on people trying to return to northern gaza

Fingers toes and everything crossed that the ceasefire/hostage release doesn't collapse as a result of this

This is what al Jazeera are reporting

Palestinians attempt to return home
Tareq Abu Azzoum
Reporting from Khan Younis, southern Gaza

In the early hours of this morning, Palestinians packed their items and headed out to reach the areas they had been evacuated from in the northern and central regions of Gaza.

The Israeli occupation forces have used different methods to crack down on those attempts to reach the north of the Gaza Strip by using and firing gas canisters
.
In some cases, they have opened fire, and several of Palestinians have been injured and taken back to hospitals in the south of the territory.

Now, some people in the north of the Gaza Strip managed to get back to their houses, where they found their areas completely wiped out by occupation forces. But there is a sense of frustration for those who did not manage to go back to their houses, check on it or at least pull their loved ones from the rubble.

And

Citing witnesses, Palestinian news agency Wafa says seven people were wounded by Israeli forces as they attempted to go back to their homes in northern Gaza.

The Israeli army has been warning Gaza residents that movement from the south of the Gaza Strip to the north “will not be allowed in any way”, calling the northern areas “a combat zone”.

There have also been reports of rockets fired from Gaza after the ceasefire started. I think as long as no one dies and there's no serious escalation, the ceasefire will hold despite these relatively minor events. Obviously not minor to anyone who has been injured, I just mean in the grander scheme of things.

I wish people would stop trying to make their way to northern Gaza for the time being though, they've been warned not to. It's not going to end well if they continue to try. I understand why people would want to, but I still think they need to stop.

Was the missiles/rockets into Israel confirmed?

About 30 minutes into the ceasefire sirens going off in a kibbutz near the border were reported but no missiles/damage - then it disappeared from being reported

Agree the people trying to get home to northern gaza need to stop and consider the repercussions - even tho' it's entirely understandable wanting to return to see/bury relatives etc

It's a bit of flaw in the plan - 'don't do this' 'try stopping us'

@queenofarles now reporting 2 people dead

Bbc said that they thought one missile was from the Yemeni houthis
The ceasefire is only with Hamas
But the escalation with Lebanon and Yemeni houthis etc is still continuing unfortunately

Can anyone confirm the rules on returning to the North as I saw two reports which were slightly confusing
The first which I thought was the default that the Gazans can't return to the North during the 4 day period
And the second that they can use the Salah ad din Road to do so

So is there a blanket refusal or is it conditional?

Why are the Gazans not allowed to return to the North to bury their loved ones? Sorry but it seems incredibly cruel to stop them when they know they had to leave their family members under the rubble and flee.

Might be wrong but my understanding is the road can be used for 'evacuating' south but can't be used going north back into gaza city or other parts of northern gaza

Not sure what's happening with the checkpoints on the road - no more arrests but ?continuing to do ID checks/facial recognition

@Parkingt111

Only two and a half hours to go
Really praying that no escalations happen between now and then
This feels like a pivotal moment where if it goes well it can eventually lead to all the hostages released and a full ceasefire

@Efacsen oh ok yes that would clarify it

I don't think @OhHelloTheres was referring to the possible Houthi missile attack on Eilat [now being reported as a false alarm] but to a much earlier in the day event 2miles from the Israel-Gaza border

@Parkingt111 thank you for the info about the HOSTAGES. It's good to know we are all focused on their return.

@Stomacharmeleon welcome

This is a brief update on sky on what we can expect to happen soon

Palestinian official claims Israel will free 39 prisoners today
They will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross at Israel's Ofer military jail around 4pm local time (2pm UK time).
That would coincide with the planned handover at the Gaza-Egypt border of 13 hostages taken by Hamas.
"After the Red Cross receives the (Palestinian) prisoners, the ones from Jerusalem will go to Jerusalem and the ones from the West Bank will gather in Betunia municipal council, where their families will be waiting," Mr Fares said.

IDF shooting and killing Palestinians trying to return north is now being reported by BBC but not in a big headlines/this is imperilling the ceasefire way so maybe it will blow over...........................

Information about the repatriation of hostages after their release

The first Israeli women and children to go free from Gaza on Friday under a truce with their Hamas captors will be flown home under military guard, with measures meant to reduce the duress and attend to any immediate medical complications, Reuters reports.

Ahead of the release of the first 13 hostages, who have not been identified, Israel’s air force published images of dolls, colourful throw-rugs and personal hygiene kits set up at locations scheduled to receive them by helicopter.

Hamas is due to deliver the group – who are among about 240 people held in the Gaza Strip since the 7 October killing spree in southern Israel – to neighbouring Egypt. In return, Israel will release 39 Palestinians from its jails.

“Today is the first light at the end of the tunnel,” an air force lieutenant colonel was shown saying in a video briefing. “We are all in this together.”

A military statement asked the public to respect hostages’ privacy. After landing in Israel, they will receive preliminary medical care and be sent to several hospitals for reunions with their families.

An Israeli official said military transport helicopters would take part in the repatriation, suggesting they would pick the hostages up at an Egyptian airport – perhaps in El Arish, near Gaza. That has not been formally confirmed by Cairo.

The helicopter crews would include a commando squad, doctors and liaison officers with training in communication and counselling – the first Israelis to greet the former captives. The Israeli official said:

The personnel will introduce themselves by name, with a visible face and a smile, and maintain eye contact and distance in order to allow the caregivers and support teams to do their work in the best possible way.

Among other measures designed to reduce stress would be the issuing of noise-cancelling headphones, including for the children among them, “to make the flight experience easier and provide them with peace and quiet,” the official said.

Health officials have said separately that the hostages would receive psychological attention and specialised care for any who may have suffered sexual assault.

While the adults released can expect to be questioned by Israeli security officials for information about their captivity and the fate of the others still held by Hamas, the child hostages will be spared this, local media reports have reported.

Four hostages have been returned alive previously while a fifth was rescued by Israeli troops. Israel has recovered the bodies of at least two more. The condition and locations of the remaining hostages was unclear.23m ago
11.42 GMT

I hope the hostages that they have agreed to release will be released soon.

Then mediation to work on release of all hostages.

Fingers crossed this is the start.
And the dead are allowed home to their families.

Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly. I really hope the media stay away forms the hostages. I don't want to see ay picture of any of them they have not consented to.

Little bit about the other women and minors on the other side of this deal moving into place

We’re getting reports that the female Palestinian prisoners at Damon prison near Haifa are being brought to the Ofer detention centre near Ramallah, ahead of their release as part of the exchange deal.

I've actually been really impressed with how well they've kept the five released hostages away from the spotlight so far. I know people on here are saying it's because Israel is scared of what nice things they will say about Hamas 🙄 I'm really glad they're not being made to relive the horrors to the media on a daily basis. At least not as far as I've seen, anyway.

I felt the same way about Gilad Shalit. I think it was a year before he gave a proper interview.