November 28, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Hamas has released dozens of hostages being held in Gaza over the course of a several-day-long pause in fighting. The original four-day pause was extended an additional two days on Monday, with Hamas agreeing to free more hostages each day.

Israel has also freed Palestinians from prison — mainly women and minors — many of whom were detained but never charged.

Here's a visual look at the breakdown of freed hostages in the first four days of the truce.

It does not yet include the 12 hostages that were released by Hamas on Tuesday or the 30 Palestinians freed from jails as additional identifying information has yet to be provided.

Israel’s military operation will continue until Gaza is “no longer a threat to Israel," the country's prime minister said. 

“We are committed to completing these missions: Freeing all of the hostages, eliminating this terrorist organization above and below the ground and, of course, that Gaza must not return to being what it was — that it will no longer constitute a threat to the State of Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday during a visit to an army intelligence base. 

He made the comment before the latest release of hostages on Tuesday. 

The prime minister also vowed to bring the release of all hostages taken by Hamas "without exception." 

Netanyahu went on to blame civilians in Gaza for “protecting the terrorists,” but did not provide any evidence. 

Hamas denies that it uses civilians as human shields. 

The pause in fighting in Gaza has given many families the chance to return home to retrieve belongings — and in some cases, the bodies of their relatives.

CNN followed one man back to his destroyed home. Grieving grandfather Khaled Nabhan was seen around the world in a widely shared video of his moment of grief last week as he kissed his lifeless 3-year-old granddaughter goodbye.

In the video posted on social media, Nabhan shakes the little girl Reem gently and tries to open her eyes, as if she is asleep.

Reem was killed last week, alongside her 5-year-old brother Tarek, while they were sleeping when their home was brought down by a nearby airstrike in Al Nuseirat refugee camp in southern Gaza.

Speaking to CNN, Nabhan described the final evening he had with his grandchildren, breaking down in tears as he recalled how they begged him to take them outside to play. He had refused because of the danger from Israeli airstrikes, he said.

In another social media video, the two children’s bodies lay prepared for burial in white shrouds while Nabhan fixes Tarek’s hair.

“I combed his hair like he would always ask me to, like a photo he would always show me,” Nabhan said later. “He loved his hair like that, now he’s gone.”

Picking through the rubble of his family’s home on Monday, Nabhan showed CNN where his daughter Maysa — Reem and Tarek’s mother — was sleeping with the children when the house collapsed. She and her sister survived but were seriously injured.

From the debris, he picked up a doll that had belonged to his granddaughter, kissing it. Clutched in his hand was a tangerine that he’d given Reem as a treat, but that she never had the chance to eat.

Hear more from Nabhan as he returns home:

A total of 30 Palestinians were released Tuesday from Israeli prisons in Damon, Megiddo and Ofer, the Israeli prison service said. 

A bus believed to be carrying some of the released Palestinians has departed Ofer prison and is now in the occupied West Bank. 

The bus was seen leaving the prison on live footage broadcast on Palestine TV and AFPTV. 

Hamas released 12 hostages — 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals — on Tuesday, according to the Israeli government. 

Some of the 10 Israeli hostages released Tuesday hold dual citizenship. 

Under terms of the complicated Israel-Hamas deal, Israel has to free three Palestinians for every Israeli hostage freed.  

Two of the 12 hostages released Tuesday by Hamas are Thai nationals, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

The group of hostages released Tuesday comprised 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals, the Israel Defense Forces said.

With this, a total of 19 Thai nationals have been released from Gaza by Hamas through separate negotiations that are not included in the Israel-Hamas truce.

The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum in Israel released the names and photos of the 10 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Tuesday.

Some of the Israeli hostages hold dual citizenship. 

The 12 hostages freed Tuesday are now in Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Forces said.

CNN also saw four helicopters landing at Kerem Shalom, where the freed hostages are expected to meet with the Israeli military.

Hostages in previous transfers have been flown from Kerem Shalom to hospitals.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that it successfully facilitated the release and transfer of 12 hostages freed by Hamas on Tuesday.

"Our teams have successfully facilitated the release and transfer of 12 hostages held in Gaza. We have been able to carry out this operation thanks to our neutral intermediary role," it said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The Red Cross transferred 12 released hostages at the Rafah crossing into Egypt on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

This is the first transfer since the Israel-Hamas truce was extended.

The hostages will meet with the Israeli military at Kerem Shalom. 

The families of those released are currently being notified by the military, the IDF said.