World
Ceasefire deal: What do we know about Israel’s captives held in Gaza?
When Hamas-led Palestinian fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and took about 250 people captive, it set in motion an issue that instantly.
0became vitally important to much of Israeli society.
The captives immediately became a symbol for Israelis, used to justify Israel’s brutal war on Gaza – which has now killed more than 46,800 Palestinians. But the topic has also divided Israelis, with many, particularly those supportive of the opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting that the government has not done enough to secure a deal that would lead to their release.
Now that a ceasefire deal has been agreed upon, the nightmare of captivity could be about to end for those held in Gaza.
How many captives will be released from Gaza?
There are believed to be approximately 100 Israeli captives left in Gaza, all of whom are expected to be released if the deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas is completely implemented.
But not all will be released at once. In the first six-week phase of the deal, 33 captives are expected to be released on a gradual basis in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The Israeli captives to be released in this phase include some who are ill or wounded, as well as female soldiers and men over 50.
Egypt has said that those released in the first phase will be exchanged for 1,890 Palestinian prisoners. Israel has said that it will release 95 Palestinians, all women and children, on the first day of the ceasefire on Sunday.
The rest of the captives, all believed to be male soldiers, will be released in later phases of the ceasefire deal, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
What do we know about the identities of the captives being released?
No official list of the Israeli captives being released in the first phase has been published yet, and while the identities of the captives still in Gaza are known, it is unclear who is still alive.
In fact, on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ceasefire would not begin until Israel received the list of the captives who would be released.
Hamas has said that a number of Israeli captives have been killed in Israeli attacks on the locations where they had been held, but videos have also been released with messages from some of the captives.
While all of the remaining captives are Israeli, some are dual-nationals, including from the United States, Argentina and Germany.
Five of the captives are believed to be female soldiers who were captured during raids on October 7.
And two of the captives who are expected to be released in the first phase are Israelis who were taken captive in Gaza before October 7, and who have spent years in the enclave.
What will the handover process be like?
While some captives were freed by Israeli forces in military operations that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, more than 100 – the vast majority of those who have left Gaza – were released in a temporary ceasefire in November 2023.
During that prisoner exchange, the captives released were transferred by Palestinian fighters to the Red Cross, and then handed over to Israeli forces.
Israel has prepared medical teams to receive the captives, and the head of the health team at the Hostages Families Forum, Hagai Levine, expects that many will have cardiovascular and respiratory issues after having spent so long underground in tunnels.
How important has their captivity been in Israel?
The topic of the captives has been a central one in Israel and among pro-Israel supporters since the war began.
The release of the captives has been one of the primary war goals of Israel, but it also arguably contradicts one of the other stated goals, the complete defeat of Hamas.
This is because Hamas has offered to release the captives since the war began as part of a deal that would end the war, a demand that the Israeli prime minister had consistently refused until recently.
In fact, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has declared that he has been able to use his political power to stop any deal from taking place over the past year, in essence placing the goal of defeating Hamas and building illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza above the release of the captives in a prisoner exchange. Ben-Gvir is now expected to follow through on his promise to resign if the deal is implemented.
However, the return of the captives is the primary demand for many Israelis. Their pictures are displayed on posters across Israel, and the “bring them home now” demand is regularly heard at protests. A plaza in Tel Aviv has been renamed “Hostages Square”, and is a focal point for demonstrations.
Family members of captives have had frequent run-ins with members of Israel’s government, and a movement representing them has promised to continue to push for the release of the captives. “We will not allow them [far-right ministers] to sabotage the full implementation of the deal,” a speaker at an event supporting the ceasefire deal said on Saturday.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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