Israelis held hostage in Gaza - part 4

[StillHELDhostage4]

New thread.

Went to post on thread 3 and it's full.

Sad 4th thread and hostages still held by Hamas and others.

Signs of life received for 12 hostages 🎗️

https://www.timesofisrael.com/signs-of-life-received-in-recent-days-for-at-least-9-hostages-held-in-gaza/

Good news.
At 11.37 today The Guardian reported this:
Hamas says it will continue implementing Gaza deal, including hostage exchange
Hamas said on Thursday it would release the next group of Israeli hostages as planned, paving the way toward resolving a major dispute that threatened the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

According to various newswires, the militant group said Egyptian and Qatari mediators have affirmed that they will work to “remove all hurdles,” and that it would implement the truce deal.

The statement indicated three more Israeli hostages would be freed on Saturday. There was no immediate comment from Israel on Hamas’s announcement, reports the Associated Press (AP).

Actually, I can't believe I typed 'good news'. Is it?
That innocents are released in dribs and drabs. And some will be dead.
With yet more innocents kept for further negotiations.
I feel sick.

@BeretInParis Every hostage home is good news, every second ticking by is critical for the ones still there. It's sickening too.

🎗️🇮🇱 496 days

Personally I think the remaining hostages should all be released at the same time, I think 3 here and 5 there - it isn't right ! just let them go.
How many more weeks are they supposed to be dragging this out for ? when is the next time line for the ones that aren't due to be released ?

It's all about bargaining power and control :(

May I ask a question ?

Why are hostages released on a Saturday ?

Hamas has released the names of the hostages set to be released tomorrow:

Sasha Trufanov
Sagui Dekel-Chen
Yair Horn

Reports about Sasha recently have been that he is in a very bad way.

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon i don’t know for sure, but I’d guess it’s because it’s the Jewish Shabbos.

Yes I realise it's the Jewish Shabbos, that's why I wondered.
More control / wickedness ? or am I thinking this the wrong way and it's actually a ' kindness ' realising hostages on the Jewish Shabbos.

Definitely not a kindness. Religious orthodox Jews don’t go online/ on the news on Shabbat so need to wait til sundown to hear the news. And they are well aware of that meaning it’s probable that is why they are doing the releases on Saturdays. I’m religious and will be offline from just before 5 (when Shabbat begins here in Israel), so won’t see anything until after 6 tomorrow, and will be anxiously waiting.

🫂

The majority of the hostages aren’t from very religious families who would observe Shabbat strictly - so for them, it’s just the second day of the weekend. I don’t think which day their relatives happen to be released is too important to them - they just want them home.

(The hostages were mostly taken from the kibbutzes, which generally have quite a left-leaning, secular demographic, and the Nova Festival, which very Orthodox Jews would not have been attending.)

Thank you, that's exactly what I thought, and felt !

True, but Hamas are using the hostage releases as psychological warfare against all Israelis and Jews across the religious spectrum, and i wouldn’t put it past them to be digging the knife in a little bit more by deliberating staging the releases on Shabbat. I don’t know for sure, but it seems likely.

Its an example of how they terrorise and manipulate the whole society (& diaspora) as well as the families of the hostages. Their evil is so calculated.

Welcome home Sasha, Iair and Sagui.

Alhamdulillah, they're home.

I have seen that Hamas gave all the hostages an hourglass for the mother of Einav Zangauker (who remains a hostage) with the wording 'time is running out'.

Barbaric.

I just saw that too. Monstrous.

See also that the Terrorists used a large black pick up truck that is the truck belonging to Eitan Horn, Yairs brother . They were kidnapped together and Eitan is still captive in Gaza...
Monsters...

There was a lot on show today that was belonging to Israel, the IDF etc which is interesting when Hamas are pointing the finger regarding weapons and deaths.

They are shameless.....

It was very cruel, and very manipulative, but the hourglass was only given to one of the hostages released today, Iair Horn:

On the handover stage in Khan Younis, the hostages were made to give short statements in Hebrew and militants presented Horn with an hourglass and photo of another Israeli hostage still in Gaza and his mother, reading "time is running out (for the hostages still in Gaza)". (Reuters)

@ScrollingLeaves nothing on the truck?
Or the uniforms?
Or the guns?
Or showing them flying flags over Jerusalem?

Not really sure it matters whether it's one or all three?

The pick up truck that Hamas drove Yair Horn to the ‘ceremony’ in belongs to his brother Eitan who remains in captivity - Hamas stole it on October 7.

All deliberate symbols. Shameful

“Hamas terrorists informed Sagui Dekel-Chen that a daughter had been born to him while he was in captivity, and brought earrings for him to give to his wife. He asked upon meeting with the IDF representatives following the handoff from the Red Cross if he truly had a new daughter, because he did not believe them.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjmuclckyl
Twisted. All of it.

welcome home Sasha, Yair, and Sagui 💛