First Israeli hostages released

[Twiglets1]

Hamas have released the first group of hostages this morning.

7 have been handed to the Red Cross.

Another group will be released later today.

Not a single female hostage. Were any expected?
What has happened to them?

Terrible.

Why did Hamas agree to all 28 deceased being returned if they didn’t have them? Surely they knew when they agreed to the deal?

What action will Israel take do you think?

I read that Bilpin Joshi’s family didn’t know if he was still alive and must have gotten through hoping and praying he was. Can’t imagine the pain of waiting for 2 years for this to be the outcome,

How could Israel have gotten the hostages back on the 8th October?

Yes, we're all ears!

I read this morning that it was known when the deal was agreed that Hamas would not be able to release or even find quite a few of the bodies ( about 10).

But it was unexpected that they only released 4.

It’s only my guess but I don’t think Israel will be able to take any real action against Hamas for this. So much has been made of peace having been achieved, and I agree with the opinion that peace has to be maintained now if at all possible.

I think all parties need to tread very softly not to trigger more conflict. Israel will still be trying very hard to locate and recover all the dead hostages.

So bloody cruel.

Yes but did we really expect integrity from a bunch of terrorists?

I’ve woken up this morning still feeling a big sense of relief that all the live hostage were returned yesterday and not at death’s door. Though the physical & emotional damage is hard to imagine.

I understand that some in the friend’s & families group are understandably devastated & furious with Hamas and are calling for the Israeli government to take action so we’ll see if they do. Katz is talking revenge but Netanyahu isn’t at the moment from what I’ve read.

From Times of Israel:

An Israeli official had told CNN this week that seven to nine bodies of the 28 might not be retrieved, while another put the figure at between 10 and 15. Several families were told by Israeli authorities on Sunday night that the bodies of their loved ones might not returned on Monday or in the coming days. But there had been no suggestion that almost all of the bodies would not be returned in the course of the day.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Israeli mediators were intensively working to try to increase the number of bodies released on Monday. Israel was not buying the claim that Hamas had returned the bodies it had and was still looking for others, and believes the terror group is stalling, Channel 12 reported.
Kan said that Hamas had conveyed the following message to the mediators: “We have limitations beyond our control and constraints in the field that caused us to hand over a lower number than expected of dead hostages.”

The terror group does not claim that it doesn’t know where all 24 of them are, just that it needs more time to retrieve them. Some may also be located in areas currently held by the IDF, Kan said.

In response to the limited release of bodies, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that if Hamas were intentionally delaying the return of the dead hostages, it would be a violation of the agreement.

“The urgent mission we are all committed to now is to ensure the return of all the fallen hostages home,” he wrote on X.

“Hamas’s announcement of the expected return of four bodies today constitutes a failure to meet its commitments,” Katz said, adding that “any delay or deliberate avoidance will be considered a blatant violation of the agreement and will be met accordingly.”

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israel is demanding that Hamas uphold its end of the deal.

"We demand that Hamas uphold its part of the agreement. We do not forget them (the hostages) for a moment and will not rest until all return to their families and to burial in Israel,” he said.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-accuses-hamas-of-violating-deal-after-group-says-its-only-releasing-4-bodies/

Precisely how could the Israeli government ended it on 8th October 2023? Can you explain?

Reported by the BBC that the bodies of four more deceased hostages have been handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza.

Also reported that there is unhappiness from both Israel & Trump regarding Hamas's lax attitude to the peace plan.

At the White House, Trump has reiterated his call for Hamas to disarm, telling a news conference that "if they don't disarm, we will disarm them."

It’s pretty obvious that the country is so smashed to shit that they’re having difficulty retrieving the bodies. Several new reports have said this. I so hope Israel doesn’t use this as an excuse to keep the war going.

If only they hadn’t abducted the hostages in the first place…

Yes I've been wondering this as well.

@Twiglets1 ’At the White House, Trump has reiterated his call for Hamas to disarm, telling a news conference that "if they don't disarm, we will disarm them."

Easier said than done when they only wear ‘uniforms’ on special occasions.

I think most female hostages were returned in November 2023, then some more in January 2025. Noa Argamani was rescued in June 2024.
As far as I know Inbar Hatman was the last female hostage, and her body is still in Gaza.

@inamarina Ah, well, butcher them all then. Oh wait …

They’re such a pathetic bunch.
Hiding amongst civilians and then parading around in their stupid attire as soon as there’s a ceasefire.

Don’t you agree that Hamas shouldn’t have taken the hostages?

The 4 dead hostages returned last night have been identified as Uriel Baruch, Tamir Nimrodi, and Eitan Levy. The fourth has yet to be identified.

Four more of the dead hostages are due to be released today, which will make a total of 12 (out of 28).

As Hamas appear to now be co-operating with the release of the dead hostages, the Israel government has reportedly decided to cancel the sanctions planned for today. These were set to include limiting humanitarian aid and keeping the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt shut.

The fourth body returned last night was identified as a Gazan, not one of the Israeli hostages.

Ugh, it's like Shiri Bibas all over again.

Oh no ... why have Hamas done this again?

They surely know after last time that they won't get away with it if they are trying to trick Israel. Seems deliberately provocative and at such a sensitive time too in negotiations. Seems like Hamas don't want peace.

Hamas want to drag the world into their war, they are a scourge.

They've succeeded in doing that haven't they? 😞

Yes and no. They definitely made it a huge global diplomatic and propaganda issue for the last 2 years, and we don't yet know what the long term significance of that is going to be.

But they've also been militarily and diplomatically isolated. The Iranians can do much less for them now than they could 2 years ago, and the Qataris have been frightened into submission at least for now. It's incredibly telling that the ceasefire only came once they were being told by other Arab regimes and Turkey that, essentially, you've lost this round.