50 hostages will be released

[Ohlalalalala]

At least a bit of good news in the darkness:

Israel's cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas to secure the release of 50 hostages being held in Gaza.

The hostages will be released over a four-day pause in fighting, a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office says.

Under the deal, the release of every additional 10 hostages will extend the pause in fighting by one day.

The deal was approved by Israel's cabinet after a lengthy meeting that ran into the early hours of Wednesday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67481139

Let's hope and pray that everything will go smoothly, that all families are reunited with their loved ones and that this pause becomes a permanent ceasefire.

UPDATE

12 Thai hostages released by Hamas

The Thai prime minister says that 12 Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas in Gaza have been released.

He said embassy officials were "on the way to pick them up" but did not specify where the hostages were.

It follows the Egyptian State Information Service saying: "Intensive Egyptian efforts resulted in the release of 12 Thai nationals."

There has been no comment from Hamas.

The release of Thai nationals is not part of the deal between Israel and Hamas that was brokered by Qatar.

We still await the release of 13 Israelis.

Israel-Hamas war live: Thai PM says 12 workers released amid Gaza truce https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/24/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-continues-gaza-attacks-ahead-of-truce

Me too.

I'm checking the news constantly this afternoon. Even if they survive I dread to contemplate what they've been through 😔.

BBC is reporting that 13 hostages have been transferred to the Red Cross according to Israeli media.

I do hope little Emily Hand is among them - her father’s interviews have been heartbreaking.

Israeli hostages to cross into Egypt with the Red Cross

As we've just reported (14:31 post) 13 Israeli hostages have reportedly been handed over to the Red Cross and are on their way out of Gaza. It is not clear, however, where the handover occurred and how long the journey to Rafah will take.

Once they have crossed into Egypt they will be taken to Israel in military helicopters.

@untitledmum I agree with you.

Thank you.

It is infuriating how Israel has total impunity and disregard to international law. Any other country to do what it does would be considered a pariah state.

Having those 5 vetoes is in itself antidemocratic.

Yes I meant those 5 permanent members, most of which -some could even argue all 5- do not shine in glory for their human rights record or their political integrity.

Confining the right of veto to only those five is not only undemocratic in itself but also protects the undemocratic practices of their allies. As is the case with the USA and Israel.

Talks about reforming the Security Council have been going on for a long time now but without any progress.

As one expert put it "To a growing proportion of the world’s governments and citizens, the council today is both feckless and unjust, dominated by irresponsible and unrepresentative powers inclined to abuse their position rather than safeguard the peace."

We need to be careful who we are engaging in those threads and the reasoning behind them engaging.

Personally I am devastated some of the younger hostages particularly those alone have not been freed yet.

The names of the 13 freed Israeli hostages have been published. I don’t know what criteria were used to agree who would be freed first, but I agree it’s odd that none of the unaccompanied children seem to be among this first group. x.com/manniefabian/status/1728098414653563164?s=20

Could you please elaborate re "who we are engaging with"?

It's just 13. They will keep being freed gradually. Hopefully all of them.

Who are the Palestinian prisoners Israel released on Friday? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/24/who-were-the-palestinian-prisoners-israel-released-on-friday

Hamas releases 24 captives from Gaza as Israel truce comes into effect https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/24/hamas-releases-24-hostages-from-gaza-after-truce-comes-into-effect