Tel Aviv: Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the terrorist group on Tuesday released two more hostages, The Times of Israel reported, adding that they were identified as Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz.
According to the report, a military helicopter ferrying the two freed hostages landed on the roof of Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.
Citing a nurse at the Ichilov Hospital, The Times of Israel reported that Cooper and Lifshitz appeared to be in good health after arriving at the Israeli Medical Centre, directly upon their release from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
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- The two elderly hostages had an emotional reunion with their families, the nurse told The Times of Israel.
- Both the freed hostages were on medication that they may not have received during their two weeks of captivity.
- According to their family members, they had been visiting some relatives in Nahal Oz, a farming community in southern Israel, and were released on “humanitarian grounds” due to the mother’s poor health.
- They were released following negotiations involving Qatar and Hamas.
- The nurse said the hospital authorities will come to a better understanding of their condition in the morning, The Times of Israel reported.
- Hamas has killed 1,400 people in the worst-ever attack in the nation’s 75-year history, Israel said.
- Health Ministry in Gaza confirmed that the death toll in the region has now exceeded 5,000. This tragic development comes as the Israeli military announced on Monday that they had carried out more than 300 new airstrikes within a 24-hour period. Shockingly, among the casualties, over 2,000 are children, according to the health ministry.
- President Joe Biden said that any discussions about a Gaza ceasefire could only take place if Hamas frees all hostages seized from Israel in its October 7 attack. “We should have those hostages released and then we can talk,” Biden said at a White House event when asked if he would support a “hostages-for-ceasefire” deal, AFP reported.
- Earlier, two American hostages, identified as Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natali Raanan, were released by Hamas, CNN reported, adding that both were from Chicago.
(With Agencies input)