Radical Islamist group Hamas said it has released two more women who were held hostage for “humanitarian” reasons. Accordingly, Qatar and Egypt mediated. Israel confirmed the release and thanked Egypt and the Red Cross. The spouses of the two and more than two hundred other hostages are still under the control of the terrorist organization more than two weeks after the major Hamas attack.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the freed hostages are 85-year-old Jocheved Lifschitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper. The two Israeli women are from Kibbutz Nir Os and were taken hostage along with their 80-year-old husbands during the Hamas attack on October 7.
The two women were taken that night by military helicopter to the Sourasky clinic in Tel Aviv – one on a stretcher, the other in a wheelchair. According to the government, they were met there by their families.
“I don’t know where I was taken”
“I don’t know where I was taken,” Jocheved Lifschitz said, according to Israeli news website Ynet. She had to get on a motorcycle, “one terrorist held me from the front, the other from the back,” was how Lifschitz described the hostage situation. They crossed the border into the Gaza Strip and she was initially held in the town of Abasan near Beeri. “Then I don’t know where I’ve been taken.”
According to her daughter, Jocheved Lifschitz is doing well. She “seems fine,” Londoner Sharone Lifschitz told the BBC on Tuesday. “She seems very attentive and very interested in passing on information to families of other hostages she was with,” she said. “Although I cannot express in words the relief that she is now safe, I will continue to work to secure the release of my father and all those still held hostage in Gaza, including approximately 200 innocent people,” the daughter explained from the released man. hostage.
“Compelling humanitarian reasons”
Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Obeida had earlier said the two women had been released “for compelling humanitarian reasons.” The International Committee of the Red Cross, for its part, said it had assisted in the release of the two hostages by “getting them out of Gaza this evening.” According to Israeli media, they were taken to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing.
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, posted a video on Telegram showing the two women being handed over to the Red Cross by masked and armed men. Footage from Egyptian television channels showed the women being taken into ambulances after arriving in Egypt.
“Take everyone home.”
Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli government, military and all security services will continue to do everything they can “to find all hostages and bring home all kidnapped people.” Two US citizens – mother and daughter – were the first to be released on Friday.
During their assault on Israeli territory, the heavily armed Islamists kidnapped more than 200 people as hostages in the Gaza Strip – including babies, children, pregnant women, soldiers and foreigners.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
