Published: 08:16, October 24, 2023 | Updated: 10:57, October 24, 2023
Number 10 says minister’s claim that six British nationals are being held hostage by Hamas is ‘false’
Downing Street has made it clear that while six Britons are missing, it has not been confirmed that they are being held by Hamas.
Video: British daughter of released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, reveals her mother’s ‘hell’ at the hands of Hamas
Yocheved Lifshitz says the IDF “did not take the Hamas threat seriously” when its area was attacked before the October 7 attack
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, said at a news conference: “We were the scapegoats, they had warned us three weeks before, but the masses came to our streets and burned our fields, they sent balloons with fire and they burned our fields – the IDF did it.” I don’t take it seriously.
“On Saturday morning everything was quiet and then there was massive shelling of our community.” The huge fence that was there was blown down, they opened the gates of the kibbutz and poured in en masse, that was very, very hard, I have all these images in front of my eyes.”
A hostage freed by Hamas was “hit by sticks” during her abduction, an 85-year-old woman speaks in front of the hospital
Yocheved Lifshitz, one of the two hostages freed by Hamas last night, speaks to the press along with her daughter outside the hospital in Tel Aviv.
British citizen Sharone Lifshitz, 52, briefly interrupted English to explain what her mother said in Hebrew about her traumatic experience.
“My mother tells the terrible stories, she says that many, many people got through the fence.”
“She was placed on the back of a motorcycle with her legs on one side and her head on the other.”
“When she was arrested, she was beaten with sticks.”
She added that her elderly mother had to walk several kilometers on wet ground through a “spider web” tunnel network.
The terrorists took Lifshitz’s watch and jewelry while driving, her daughter said.
Pictured: French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks in Jerusalem
Israeli universities are postponing the start of the semester until after the reserve call-up has expired
Universities in Israel will delay the start of the academic year until the conscription of reserve soldiers ends, the committee of university presidents has announced
The fall semester, which was scheduled to begin on October 15th, was already postponed to November 5th and will now not begin until December 3rd
So far, around 360,000 reservists have been called up to fight, including thousands of university staff and students
About 30 percent of all university students are currently in service, the Times of Israel reports
Video: Dramatic moment: A loud explosion interrupts a BBC journalist’s live report from Gaza
Pictured: Israeli tanks and infantry massed on the Gaza border as the IDF declared it was ready for the “next phase of the war”.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, the death toll in Gaza rises to 5,300
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 5,300, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry.
It also said about 18,000 people had been injured since Israeli airstrikes began in the area over two weeks ago.
Pictured: Hostage Yocheved Lifshitz reunites with her loved ones in Tel Aviv hospital after being released by Hamas terrorists
Yochved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, 79, were released by Hamas on Monday
They were among more than 200 people arrested in Gaza from Israel on October 7
The women were handed over to the Red Cross at the Rafah border crossing by black-clad, masked Hamas gunmen
When she was released, Yochved turned to one of her captors and said “Shalom.”
Video: Israel says releasing hostages is a ‘good tactic’ by Hamas and the terror group wants a ceasefire
The Israelis “cannot be complacent despite the reduction in rocket attacks from Gaza,” an IDF spokesman says
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari has warned Israelis not to become complacent, even though rocket fire appears to have eased in recent days.
“There should be no complacency on the home front.” “This is an attempt by the enemy to lull us to sleep,” Hagari said.
According to the Palestinian leader’s office, Emmanuel Macron will be the first world leader to meet Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah since the war began
The French president will meet Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah today, the Palestinian Authority leader’s office said.
Emmanuel Macron is the latest Western leader to pay a solidarity visit to Israel following the Hamas attacks on October 7.
If he travels to the West Bank today, he would be the first world leader to visit the Palestinian Authority headquarters during the crisis.
The French presidency did not immediately confirm the meeting.
Pictured: Palestinians despair over the destruction of their homes as families are torn apart by the relentless Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
Israeli President Isaac Herzog tells Lebanon it is “playing with fire,” while Emmanuel Macron told a joint briefing in Jerusalem that France “will be here today, tomorrow and the day after.”
Isaac Herzog has told Emmanuel Macron that Israel is committed to the “destruction” of its enemies
“We demand the immediate release of all of our citizens,” Herzog also said
Regarding the fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF in northern Israel, he said: “We are following the situation very closely,” he said
He added that while Israel does not seek confrontation, Lebanon is “playing with fire” and will “pay the price” if Hezbollah “drags us into war.”
France’s president said his country will be “here today, tomorrow and the day after for peace and stability”
He added that Israel “will not be left alone in the war against terrorism.”
An Israeli military spokesman says the army is ready “for the next stage” but is awaiting political instructions
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Israeli military was “ready and determined” for the next phase of the war and was awaiting political instructions.
He said Israel was learning from the U.S. experience in the Middle East, but “our war is on our borders, not thousands of miles from Israel.”
Hagari said he faces weeks of fighting
He said Egypt played a key role in negotiating the release of hostages from Gaza
Israeli forces say they struck “over 400 terrorist targets” overnight, including an underwater tunnel and mosques “used by militants.”
Video: Two elderly Israeli women released by Hamas after being taken hostage on October 7 arrive at the hospital in Tel Aviv
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi indicated that Israel had no intention of curbing its attacks
Hamas has repeatedly offered to release hostages on the condition that Israel stops its bombing of Gaza
The IDF says it struck more than 400 militant targets overnight and killed dozens of Hamas fighters
Pictured: French President Emmanuel Macron visits Israel, where he meets families of Hamas hostages and Isaac Herzog
More than 270 people remain hospitalized following the October 7 Hamas terror attack, Israel says
According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, 278 people are still hospitalized following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
Of those treated, 40 suffered “serious” injuries.
At least ten British nationals have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Another six are still missing and are feared to be among the hostages held by Hamas, British Deputy Finance Minister Victoria Atkins said
Hamas released two Israeli women last night who were among more than 200 hostages taken during its rampage in southern Israel on October 7
Pictured: Palestinians pull people from the rubble and mourn their dead as authorities say the death toll exceeds 5,000 and Israel steps up its airstrikes on Gaza overnight
Good morning and welcome to our live blog
What you need to know this morning as the Israeli-Palestinian war enters its 18th day:
Hamas released two Israeli women, Yochved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79
At least ten British nationals have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Another six remain missing and are probably being held hostage by Hamas, a minister said
The Israeli military said it struck more than 400 militant targets in Gaza overnight, killing dozens of Hamas fighters, including three deputy battalion commanders
French President Emmanuel Macron visits Tel Aviv and met families of hostage victims
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll in Gaza is over 5,000, with the majority of those killed being civilians
Israel-Palestine War LIVE: 85-year-old Israeli hostage reunited with loved ones after Hamas release – as IDF strikes 400 targets in Gaza overnight
