November 25, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.

The Thai foreign ministry has confirmed that four Thai nationals were released from Gaza Saturday, including Manee Jirachart, whose family CNN spoke with last month.

His father Chumporn Jirachart showed CNN the last image he saw of his son — the bunker where he was taking cover on the October 7 attacks. 

Manee had gone to work in Israel to send money home to his family and was expected to return next year. He was released Saturday along with three other Thais.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted the names of the released hostages on his social media. They are Natthaporn Onkaew, Komkrit Chombua, Anucha Angkaew and Manee Jirachart.

All four are in good health at Shamir Medical Center in Israel and none of them needed emergency medical care, Thavisin said.

On Friday, 10 Thai nationals were freed by Hamas, bringing the total to 14 Thais released. The ministry estimated that 18 Thai nationals are still being held hostage.

Context: Among many of the foreigners killed and captured by Hamas were also migrant workers from Asia who work in the country’s agricultural, construction and healthcare sectors. Thailand has for decades made up one of the biggest sources of migrant labor in Israel, and suffered one of the highest tolls of any nation beyond Israel itself.

Aid trucks drive down a road in Rafah, Gaza, on Saturday.

Sixty-one trucks delivered food, water, and emergency medical supplies to northern Gaza on Saturday, according to the United Nations, the largest number of trucks to reach the north since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

As day two of the Hamas-Israel truce unfolded, 11 ambulances, three coaches, and a flatbed went to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to help with evacuations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Saturday.

Two hundred trucks went to the Nitzana border crossing with Egypt, while 187 entered Gaza by 7 p.m. local time (12p.m. ET), according to the UN.

129,000 liters of fuel also crossed into Gaza, it said.

In an earlier statement, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 187 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent on Saturday and dispatched the largest aid convoy to Gaza City and the northern parts of the strip since October 7.

It said the convoy was “loaded with food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies, from aid that entered through Rafah (Saturday) as well as from PRCS warehouses in the south,” the statement said, adding that it successfully distributed the aid.  

The PRCS added that it has received 1,946 aid trucks in Gaza since October 21.

Hamas has released a video showing the handover of the second group of hostages released to Red Cross officials from captivity inside Gaza.

The video is similar to one released after the first group of hostages were freed on Friday, and consists of a series of edited clips. It was released on the social media platforms of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. 

CNN was not present at any of the locations when the clips were filmed and had no control over the content. 

The video shows several of the Israeli children being handed over to Red Cross officials, as well as Maya Regev, who was later sent to a hospital for treatment. She is seen making her way to the back of a Red Cross vehicle on crutches. 

Some of the hostages are holding hands as they walk to the vehicles. 

Hamas fighters in black balaclavas and green bandanas are present at all the handovers, along with Red Cross officials wearing white jackets and bibs clearly marked with the Red Cross logo.

In several of the clips, the gunmen wave goodbye to the hostages, who appear to have little choice but to wave and smile in return — a response under duress that likely reflects their relief at going home after seven weeks in captivity.

Another clip shows the four Thai nationals also being escorted to a Red Cross vehicle and climbing in the back. They, too, appear to feel coerced into waving and giving the ‘thumbs up’ sign to their captors. 

All the clips were filmed after sundown and it is not clear if the handover points were the same as on Friday.

Unlike the video of the first group handover yesterday, the clip has audio throughout.

Context: So far 41 hostages have been released in the first two days of the truce. Thirteen Israeli civilians were freed along with 11 foreign nationals in the initial exchange on Friday, followed by another 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals on Saturday.

People participate in a show of solidarity with hostages being held in Gaza, near the Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday.

Excitement has been replaced by tension in Israel, after a brief delay before the release of several Israeli hostages on Saturday underscored the tenuousness of the nation’s deal with Hamas, which still holds around 200 captives in Gaza.

Many demonstrators appeared close to tears at a rally for the families of hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, even as a diplomatic scramble was taking place to restart the release process.

The deal brokered with Hamas is designed to see captives kidnapped on October 7 exchanged for Palestinian women and children imprisoned in Israel, a four-day truce in fighting, and increased humanitarian aid access to the besieged enclave.

Despite news that the deal was back on, just hours later, a mood of bitterness lingered – in a stark contrast to the jubilant scenes on Friday when the first group of freed Israeli hostages were reunited with their families.

Hamas on Saturday blamed the delay on issues with the amount of aid being delivered and selection of Palestinian prisoners being released.

Some relief finally came overnight, when 17 hostages were allowed to leave Gaza and cross into Israel – a small group that included four Thai nationals and 9-year-old Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli dual citizen.

Thirty-nine Palestinian teenagers and women were also released from Israeli prisons, per the terms of the exchange, on Saturday.

When the first group of 24 hostages were released on Friday, crowds of onlookers cheered their arrival at hospitals around Tel Aviv.

Read the full story here.

Israeli hostage, Maya Regev, who was released by Hamas on Saturday has arrived at Soroka Hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba for treatment of a moderate injury, according to the hospital and Israel’s Ministry of Health.

The 21-year-old is in a stable condition and her injury is not considered life threatening, according to the statement.

Maya and her brother Itay, 18, were both taken hostage by Hamas gunmen at the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the deadly October 7 attacks.

The first hostage taken from the rave party to be freed, she was said to have sustained the injury during her abduction.

She will meet with her family members at the hospital and receive medical and psychological care as needed.

In an interview with CNN last month, their father Ilan replayed a terrifying call Maya had placed to her father during the brutal attack by Hamas on the Nova festival. “Dad, they shot me, they shot me!” Maya can be heard screaming down the phone.

Context: The Nova Festival was in a rural farmland area near the Gaza-Israel border was one of multiple locations hit on October 7 by Hamas militants. More than 260 bodies were found at the site in the aftermath of the attacks.

Israel has received a list of hostages due to be released Sunday in accordance with an agreement signed with Hamas, according to Israel’s Prime Minister’s office. 

Context: The list marks what is set to be the third day of releases since a truce for a temporary pause in fighting came into effect on Friday. Under the agreement, a total of 50 hostages are expected to be freed over the four days, while Palestinian prisoners are also due to be released in waves.

Twenty four hostages — including 13 Israeli civilians and 11 foreign nationals — were freed on Friday, followed by 17 more — 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — on Saturday.

This post has been updated with additional information from Israel’s Prime Minister’s office.

Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari speaks during an interview in Doha, Qatar, on November 12.

Qatar is hoping to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas beyond the agreed upon four days, Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told CNN Saturday.

Al-Ansari said he continues to work with senior officials in Qatar to address concerns from either side of the conflict regarding the implementation of the hostage deal. 

Al-Ansari added that he could not confirm if any Americans would be released on the third day of the truce.

The ministry spokesperson also said Qatar is working with partners in Egypt, the United States, and both parties of the conflict to ensure the agreed amount of aid trucks are allowed into Gaza.

Al-Ansari responded to the head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs who accused Israel of not abiding by the agreement to release prisoners in order of length of time served.

Some context: A second group of hostages released from Gaza — comprising 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — arrived in Israel late Saturday, according to Israeli officials and a CNN team on the ground. Hamas had delayed the second exchange over a dispute about the prisoners and aid for Gaza that was resolved through mediation, according to Qatar.

An ambulance believed to be carrying released hostages drives near the Israel-Gaza border early Sunday, local time.

The Israel Defense Forces said early Sunday local time that the 17 hostages released on Saturday are leaving the initial meeting point in Israel.

The released hostages — 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — underwent an initial medical assessment, and one civilian was transferred to a hospital an hour ago. Others are on their way to hospitals, where they will reunite with their families, the IDF said in a statement.

People crowd around a bus carrying released Palestinian prisoners near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Sunday.

Palestinians have gathered in front of the Al-Bireh municipality building near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, where some of the 39 detainees and prisoners released by Israel as part of a deal with Hamas are expected to arrive shortly.

The Israeli Prison Authority confirmed that all 39 had left their places of incarceration —Damon and Megiddo prisons in Israel, and Ofer prison in the West Bank — earlier Saturday.

Of those, 33 are teenage boys and six are women.

Based on information from the Israeli Prison Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an NGO promoting prisoners’ rights, CNN assesses that 15 of those released on Saturday were serving sentences, mostly for attacks on Israelis.  

The other 24 were held in what is called administrative detention, which means they were held without knowing any charges against them, and without any legal process.

Israa Al-Jaabis reunites with her family in East Jerusalem early Sunday after being released from an Israeli prison.

Violence near one of the prisons: Three boys were shot and wounded with live ammunition near Ofer prison earlier Saturday evening, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

A CNN team on the ground near Beitunia crossing, which is about 200 meters away from the Israeli prison, had witnessed many Palestinians waiting in the area for the expected release of the prisoners. The team heard three gunshots over the course of an hour and witnessed three boys being carried away on a stretcher over the same time period.

The Red Crescent said two of the boys were 17, and one was 16.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Border Police for comment.

CNN’s Nada Bashir, Abeer Salman, Celine Alkhaldi and Kareem Khadder contributed reporting to this post.

This post has been updated with details about the shooting outside Ofer prison.

A Red Cross vehicle carrying released hostages enters the Rafah border crossing on Saturday.

A group of released hostages arrived in Israel after leaving Gaza in a Red Cross convoy late Saturday local time, according to the Israeli military. A CNN team on the ground saw the convoy arrive.

The group includes 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals, Israel said.

Here are other headlines you should know:

Thomas Hand, the father of Emily Hand, holds up a picture of them together at his hotel near the Dead Sea in Israel on November 10.

Thomas Hand thought his daughter Emily was killed in Hamas’ October 7 attacks, but she is listed among the Israeli hostages released by Hamas late Saturday.

Hand, who told CNN’s Clarissa Ward of the news before it was officially announced by Israel, said he was bringing his 9-year-old daughter’s dog, Johnny, to Israel and Egypt’s border Saturday. He said he planned to meet Emily there when the Red Cross convoy arrived.

Hand said he has been living in a period of anguish and hope.

He was initially told Emily had died. Weeks later, Israeli officials told him that they’re not sure Emily was killed, as they had not located her body and didn’t find any blood in the home where she was sleeping.

She turned 9 in captivity, Hand, who is a single parent after his wife died of cancer, previously told CNN.

He told CNN Saturday he hopes this will be the first step toward Emily’s recovery and is aware of the long road she has ahead to heal after being in captivity for nearly 50 days.

US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Friday.

President Joe Biden discussed hurdles to the hostage implementation deal earlier Saturday during a call with the emir of Qatar, according to the White House. 

During the call, previously reported by CNN, the leaders “discussed hurdles to implementation of the deal and mechanisms for resolving those hurdles as soon as possible.” 

They agreed to “remain in close contact,” a White House readout said.

Some context: The hostage release deal is the latest example of Qatar’s capacity to play on all sides of a treacherous regional power game. Home to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the oil-rich Arab nation also hosts a vast US air base that is critical to American national security – a duality that reflects the emirate’s emerging role as a Middle Eastern power with wider aspirations.

The Israeli government is trying to determine why a mother taken hostage on October 7 was not released along with her daughter today. 

Hila Rotem, 13, was among the Israeli hostages released Saturday, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. 

Raaya Rotem, Hila’s mother, is not listed among those hostages released. Hila and Raaya, 54, were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

An Israeli government official told CNN that mothers and children are not supposed to be separated under the agreement.

“That’s part of the deal,” the official said. “It’s unknown where she is and what happened to her.”

People carry empty gas canisters to be filled with cooking gas from a tank that entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Saturday.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Saturday with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant to discus the release of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to a Department of Defense statement.

Austin “acknowledged the critical roles played by the governments of Israel, Qatar and Egypt in reaching an agreement that will also see increased humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries to civilians in Gaza,” it said. 

Austin also reaffirmed US interest in preventing the conflict in Gaza from expanding into Lebanon.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 187 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent on Saturday and dispatched the largest aid convoy to Gaza City and the northern parts of the strip since October 7, the day of Hamas’ attacks in Israel. 

It said the convoy was “loaded with food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies, from aid that entered through Rafah (Saturday) as well as from PRCS warehouses in the south,” the statement said, adding that it successfully distributed the aid.  

The PRCS added that it has received 1,946 aid trucks in Gaza since October 21.

Top row, from left: Noga Weiss, Shiri Weiss, Adi Shoham, Naveh Shoham and Yahel Shoham. Middle row, from left: Maya Regev, Noam Avigdori, Sharon Avigdori, Hila Rotem and Emily Hand. Bottom row, from left: Shoshan Haran, Alma Or and Noam Or.

The Israeli prime minister’s office and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum have each released the names and ages of all thirteen Israeli hostages released on the second day of a truce between Israel and Hamas Saturday:

Dror Or, the father of Noam and Alma Or, is still being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to Israeli officials. Yonat Or, the children’s mother and Dror’s wife, was killed on October 7.

Raaya Rotem, the mother of Hila Rotem, is also still being held in Gaza.

Four additional hostages: Israel said a total of 17 hostages were released by Hamas on Saturday. The four people not listed above are Thai nationals, the Israel Defense Forces said.

A group of 17 freed hostages is now inside Israel after leaving Gaza in a Red Cross convoy late Saturday night local time, according to the Israeli military.

A CNN team on the ground saw the convoy arrive.

The group includes 13 Israelis and four foreign nationals, Israel said. The four foreigners were Thai nationals, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

This post has been updated with additional information about the hostages.

Four Thai nationals have been released by Hamas late Saturday night in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said.

A Red Cross convoy enters the Rafah border crossing late Saturday night.

A group of hostages was seen leaving Gaza in a Red Cross convoy late Saturday night local time.

The Red Cross had earlier confirmed that it was headed to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt with the hostages, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Hamas said it had handed over 13 Israelis and seven foreign nationals to the organization, though Qatar and the IDF each said the number of released foreign nationals was only four.

Remember: Saturday’s planned exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners between Israel and Hamas was delayed after a dispute over terms between the two sides, which Qatar later said was resolved through mediation.

This post has been updated to reflect developments on the ground and an update on hostages from the IDF and Qatar.