Israel confirms release of three Israeli, five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has released a statement confirming the names of three Israeli hostages set to be freed from Gaza on Thursday. The release also mentioned that five Thai hostages are scheduled to be freed, although it did not release their names.

These include hostages Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 19, and Gadi Moses, 80, among others. In addition to the release, the Israeli authorities also freed 110 Palestinian prisoners in the latest prisoner swap. Of these, 32 received life imprisonment, and another 30 are children, Hamas said.

This is part of an initial phase in a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas that had originally envisioned the release of 33 Israeli captives. There have been two previous rounds of releases, with nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel under this first phase.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said eight of the remaining hostages Israel was supposed to receive on Thursday were known to have died. The three identified for release on Thursday are thought to be alive, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said.

Yehoud, meanwhile, had been abducted with her partner from the Nir Oz kibbutz. Also from Nir Oz – which with a population of around 400 has lost or had taken prisoner over a quarter of its population since October 7 – came Moses, described as a retired grandfather and an agronomist.

The chairwoman of Kibbutz Nir Oz, Osnat Peri, termed the imminent release an historic moment but asserted that the struggle was far from over. Of the 76 people kidnapped from their community, 29 remain in Gaza. She underscored that while the road to complete rehabilitation will be long, efforts at bringing all the people home will continue.

Moses’ family expressed their joy at his expected return, thanking the Israeli public for their support. Meanwhile, Berger, a soldier, was taken from a military base near the Nahal Oz kibbutz.

The Hostage Forum reiterated its commitment to ensuring that every hostage, both living and deceased, is returned home.

Former Hostage Expresses Gratitude to Israeli Soldier

The latest news of hostage releases comes after a former captive, Amit Soussana, gave an emotional thank-you to a fellow hostage, Liri Albag, for saving her life.

Soussana, who was released during a short-lived ceasefire in November 2023, gave an emotional television interview in which she said Albag, 19, had convinced one of their captors not to kill her.

In the first weeks of her captivity, Soussana was in solitary confinement, in which time, she said, her kidnapper raped her. In late October, when Israel launched a ground offensive, she was transferred to another location in Gaza, where she found four other hostages, among them Albag.

She said the hostages quickly banded together and pegged one of their kidnappers as significantly more dangerous than the others. That man, whom Soussana described as a “psychopath,” beat her mercilessly at one point, binding her hands and feet to sticks and hanging her upside down.

Her kidnappers, mistakenly believing her to be an officer in the IDF, interrogated her in hopes of gleaning information. At one point, she was threatened at gunpoint, while other hostages were brought in in hopes of persuading her to confess.

Albag, who seemed to hold some influence over their kidnapper, reassured Soussana that he was probably bluffing. But she asked Soussana if she wanted to leave a final message for her family. Soussana instantly understood that Albag was the only one who could communicate with their kidnapper and asked her to make it clear she was a civilian. She said Albag was “a force” and one of the few people who had an exceptional capability to stand up to their kidnapper.

After two weeks in their company, the women were separated, and Soussana was transferred to Hamas’s underground tunnel network; many hostages had to stay imprisoned for more than 15 months.