World
Hostage families in Israel express cautious optimism after cease-fire deal: 'We hope they’ll come back alive'
TEL AVIV — Israeli negotiators have reached agreement with the Hamas terror group for a hostages-for-cease-fire deal that will also reportedly see the release of thousands of Palestinian security prisoners, many with blood on their hands, and an Israeli military withdrawal from key areas of the Gaza Strip.
“I am trying to breathe,” Efrat Machikawa, the niece of Israeli captive Gadi Moses, told Fox News Digital in response to the development.
“We will not know for sure that it is really happening until we will get the phone call to come see Gadi at the hospital. Although I am optimistic by nature, I am trying to control myself because we were very close to so many deals since the last one when my aunt Margalit was released,” Machikawa said.
ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL REACHED
Pictures of loved ones who have been captured by Hamas are shown during a Defend Israeli Democracy UK press conference at Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London by Sharon Lifschitz and Noam Sagi, two London-based British Israelis whose parents are among the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. (Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images/File)
In November 2023, a weeklong Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement saw 105 hostages freed from Gaza.
Palestinian terrorists are still holding 98 hostages in Gaza, 94 of whom were abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Thirty-six of the hostages have been confirmed dead.
“I am disappointed that this agreement does not talk about all the hostages. It is unacceptable that the second phase is not defined in a way that shows when my son will be released from captivity,” Ruby Chen, the father of American-Israeli IDF Sgt. Itay Chen, told Fox News Digital.
Chen visited Qatar last week to meet with U.S. negotiators.
“We will continue the fight until all the hostages come out,” he said. “With the inauguration of President-elect Trump next week, my hope is that in his speech he will say, ‘Mr. Chen, I am able to get your son back.’”
From left, American hostages being held in Gaza: Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Keith Siegel, Omer Neutra, Judi Weinstein Haggai, Gadi Haggai and Itay Chen (Ruby Chen’s son) (Fox News)
“My focus is on the second phase when my son will be released,” Yehuda Cohen, the father of IDF soldier Nimrod Cohen who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7, 2023, told Fox News Digital.
“He is one of the youngest and one of three living soldiers who were captured in uniform. I assume he will be one of the last to be released,” Cohen continued. “He would have been in captivity for about a year and a half then, and I don’t know what condition he is in physically or mentally. Our private fight to get him back to normal life will soon start.”
WIFE OF US HOSTAGE KEITH SIEGEL PLEADS FOR HOLIDAY MIRACLE: ‘WE NEED TO GET THEM BACK’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, meets with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. (Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)
The breakthrough in long-stalled negotiations came after the U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend in Jerusalem. The two held a “tense” meeting, according to local media, with Witkoff having demanded significant concessions.
Trump warned on Monday that the failure to reach an agreement would have consequences.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there like they have never seen before,” he stated.
During Hamas’s terror invasion 467 days ago, the Bibas family, including mother Shiri, husband Yarden and their children, Ariel, 4, and 9-month-old baby Kfir, were taken by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Relatives and friends of people killed or abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza react to the cease-fire announcement as they take part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
“We hope they’ll come back alive and we can get them treated, to do the best for them to readjust. But we don’t know in what situation they will return. We are very afraid,” Jimmy Miller, Shiri Bibas’s cousin, told Fox News Digital.
“I hope for the best, but I don’t want to be disappointed if something bad happens. I try not to think about it too much before it really happens. We thought it would happen before. Saturday is Kfir’s [second] birthday. Maybe he can celebrate it with us even a few days later,” he added.
A woman holds a poster of Israeli hostage Omer Neutra during a memorial vigil held in New York City on Nov. 1, 2023, for the people killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters issued a statement, “We, the families of 98 hostages, welcome with overwhelming joy and relief the agreement to bring our loved ones home. We wish to express our profound gratitude to President-elect Trump, President Biden, both administrations, and the international mediators for making this possible. Since November 2023, we have been anxiously awaiting this moment, and now, after over 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones.
“This is a significant step forward that brings us closer to seeing all hostages return – the living to rehabilitation, and the deceased for proper burial,” the statement continues. “However, deep anxiety and concerns accompany us regarding the possibility that the agreement might not be fully implemented, leaving hostages behind. We urgently call for swift arrangements to ensure all phases of the deal are carried out.”
“We will not rest until we see the last hostage back home.”
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.
MISSOURI SKYDIVING PLANE CRASH THAT KILLED ALL 12 ABOARD IS A ‘DEVASTATING LOSS,’ COMPANY SAYS
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.”
EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE
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.
FORMER NFL QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III DESCRIBES HARROWING ENGINE FIRE ON UNITED FLIGHT
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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