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What we know
- Thirteen Israelis and four Thai citizens have been released after an hourslong delay, according to the IDF. At least 50 hostages are expected to be freed from Gaza and 150 Palestinians from Israel by the end of the four-day truce.
- Thirty-nine prisoners held by Israel were released from three prisons tonight as part of the deal, according to an Israeli prison authority spokeswoman.
- A Qatari operations team landed in Tel Aviv today to “ensure the deal continues to run smoothly, and discuss further details of the ongoing deal,” a diplomat told NBC News today. Earlier, Hamas accused Israel of violating the truce.
- The Israeli military has urged civilians who fled to southern Gaza not to return home, and warned that the IDF is preparing for the next phase of the war once the pause ends.
- A flow of aid trucks continue to enter Gaza under protection of the cease-fire, with more than 300 set to roll in today, including at least 130,000 tons of fuel. The humanitarian aid brings relief for civilians who have been suffering for weeks as supplies of food, water and medicine ran low.
- More than 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza, where health officials say the death toll has surpassed 14,500 after weeks of Israeli attacks. The Israel Defense Forces estimate 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, with more than 200 people held hostage in Gaza.
- NBC News’ Keir Simmons, Raf Sanchez, Ali Arouzi, Erin McLaughlin and David Noriega are reporting from the region.
Israel reviewing latest list of hostages slated for release
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement today that it was reviewing the list of hostages slated for release by Hamas militants.
The information was conveyed to the hostages’ families, the statement said.
The scheduled release would be the third since Israel and Hamas reached a deal that would see the militants release at least 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinians being freed from Israeli jails.
Both hostages and Palestinian prisoners were released during the first two days of a four-day cease-fire, with more expected should the truce continue to hold.
This Ivy League school took a novel approach to easing tensions sparked by the Israel-Hamas war. Did it work?
Threats and assaults toward Jewish, Muslim, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian students on college campuses have been on the rise since the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel and the counterattacks in Gaza that have followed.
But at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, students from those same groups told NBC News they still feel safe and credit, in large part, the college’s novel approach to the issue: talking about it.
Sophomore Ramsey Alsheikh, a Muslim and son of a Palestinian refugee, remembers on Oct. 10 walking into his class on the 1967 war between Israel and Arab states. The class included Jewish, Muslim and Christian students and they had been discussing Arab and Israeli relations all fall; now those issues were playing out once again, in real time.
“There was a sort of silence. Like a sense of, almost like tragedy,” Alsheikh recalls. “Then we talked about it. We unpacked it. … The raw weight of the event was still in all of our minds. We were just kind of processing it together, I guess. It was something.”
His professor, Susannah Heschel, a Jewish Studies professor, then took the same concept to the rest of the college. Days later she convened a forum led by Jewish and Middle Eastern studies professors and rented a room for 70 people. But hundreds showed up and approximately 600 joined by livestream.
After the rush of release, hostages and their families can be torn by competing emotions
TEL AVIV — Grief and joy.
These are just two of the complex and sometimes opposing emotions Hamas hostages and their families will experience as they emerge from 50 days in captivity in the Gaza Strip, one expert says.
Joy was the unmistakable emotion captured in the first images of freed hostages as they reunited with family this weekend. Twenty-four hostages were released Friday and another 17 were released Saturday as part of a four-day cease-fire deal.
In one, Ohad Munder-Zichri, who had his ninth birthday as a hostage in Gaza, can be seen running into his father’s arms in a video posted to Facebook.
In another, Doron Katz Asher and her young daughters Aviv, 2, and Raz, 4, can be seen in their first moments with father and husband Yoni Asher.
He hugs the three tightly.
39 Palestinian prisoners released, Israel prison authority says
Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners were released as a part of the hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas today, according to the Israel prison authority.
The prison authority said the 39 were released from three prisons as a part of the second phase of the deal to free hostages.
Hostages on their way to Israel hospitals to reunite with family
Hostages released today are on their way to hospitals in Israel, where they will reunite with their families, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The hostages received an initial medical assessment at the meeting point in Israel. One civilian was taken to the hospital and the rest are en route to the hospitals to see family, according to the IDF.
Biden administration is 'disappointed' no Americans were released in today's hostage exchange
The Biden administration is "disappointed" no Americans have been released as a part of the hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, but officials remain "hopeful" that at least three Americans with duel Israeli citizenship will be freed as part of the overall deal for the release of 50 hostages, two senior administration officials told NBC News.
"We are disappointed that we haven’t seen the Americans on a list yet, but we are hopeful for the next couple of days," one official said, adding "the U.S. is hopeful that we can keep the pause in place and the exchange in place, because we want all of the hostages out."
One official said there is "common concern" that Hamas is holding the three Americans until the fourth day of the exchange to encourage the U.S. to put pressure on Israel for an extended pause in fighting, but the sources could not point to any official assessment or intelligence confirming that to be the case.
Previous reports from administration officials have said 10 Americans were missing.
Names of 13 Israeli hostages in second day of exchange released
The names of 13 Israeli hostages freed in the second day of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas have been released by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
They are: Sharon Hertzman Avigdori, 52; Noam Avigdori, 12; Alma Or, 13; Noam Or, 17; Emily Toni Kornberg Hand; Hila Rotem Shoshani, 12; Shoshan Haran, 67; Adi Shoham, 38; Neve Shoham, 8; Yahel Shoham, 3; Shiri Weiss, 53; Noga Weiss, 18; Mia Regev Jarbi, 21.
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said Emily Hand celebrated her ninth birthday yesterday.
Humanitarian organization said it received 187 aid trucks today
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it received 187 trucks of aid containing "food, water, relief assistance, medical supplies and medicines" through the Rafah crossing today.
The organization said it has received a total of 1,946 aid trucks since Oct. 21.
Israeli hostages are with IDF in Israel
The Israel Defense Forces said 13 of the hostages released today are now in Israeli territory.
The hostages were medically assessed when they got to Israel and will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they travel to hospitals in the country where they will later be reunited with their families, according to the IDF.
Israeli hostages have been transferred to Egypt
Thirteen Israeli and four Thai citizens have been transferred to Egypt by the Red Cross, an IDF spokesperson said.
The hostages returning to Israel are making their way through Egyptian territory toward the meeting point in Keren Shalom, the spokesperson said.
