The hostages released by Hamas include children and a young man who attended a rave
Family members of Yaffa Adar, the oldest hostage released by Hamas, and three other people abducted by Hamas told the Times of Israel about the routine deprivations the hostages endured during nearly 50 days of detention by the terrorist group.
According to family members, food was provided to the hostages irregularly and practically just rice and flatbread. At night they were placed in rows on plastic chairs to sleep.
To go to the bathroom, the hostages had to knock on the door and wait for the kidnappers’ permission. “Sometimes they had to wait until 1:30 a.m. to go to the toilet,” said Merav Raviv, cousin of Keren Munder, one of the hostages released on Friday.
Yaffa Adar, the 85yearold woman’s granddaughter, said she lost a lot of weight during the kidnapping and already knew that her house had been destroyed. “She no longer has her memories or photo albums. At her age, she has to start from scratch,” laments Adva Adar.
1 of 1 Yaffa Adar in Hamas video image Photo: AP Yaffa Adar in Hamas video image Photo: AP
The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into force on Friday (24th) at 7 a.m. local time (2 a.m. in Brasília). According to the Qatari Foreign Ministry, which brokered the agreement, the ceasefire applies to the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
Qatar said an operations center in Doha was monitoring the ceasefire and the release of hostages and maintained direct communication links with Israel, Hamas’s political office in Doha and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
On Saturday (25), the Israeli newspaper Haaretz stated that Hamas had found 10 to 20 hostages who could potentially be released during the ceasefire agreement. If the scenario occurs, the ceasefire is expected to last until Wednesday (29).
On October 7, gunmen from the terrorist group Hamas crossed the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing around 240 people, according to Israeli statements.
On the same day, Israel declared war on Hamas and began attacking the Gaza Strip. According to Hamasaffiliated Palestinian health authorities, around 13,000 Gazans have been killed by Israeli bombings, around 40% of them children (these figures have not been independently verified).
Palestinian health services said it had become increasingly difficult to keep counts up to date as health services were impacted by Israeli bombings.
Before the ceasefire on Friday (24), fighting was even more intense than normal. Israeli fighter jets struck more than 300 targets and troops were involved in fighting around Jabalia, north of Gaza City.
An army spokesman said operations would continue until troops were ordered to stop. Clouds of smoke could be seen over the border fence in Israel hanging over the war zone in the northern Gaza Strip, accompanied by heavy gunfire and thunderous explosions.
Israel says Hamas militants are using residential buildings and other civilian buildings, including hospitals, as cover. Hamas denies this.
Palestinian media reported that at least 15 people were killed in airstrikes in Khan Younis, the capital in southern Gaza. The Portal news agency could not independently verify the death toll.