Nov. 30 (UPI) — Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that Hamas released eight more hostages for the day as the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has been extended for nearly a week.
The hostages were released in two groups.
1 of 7 | Keren Shelf, the mother of Israeli-French citizen Mia Shem, holds up a picture of her daughter during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 17. She was released on Thursday. Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE
First the IDF said the two hostages were returned to “an elite unit of the IDF” near the border fence and that additional hostages were expected to be handed over to the Red Cross in the following hours.
Later in the day, Israeli military reported that six additional hostages had been released and that they would be transported to Hatzerim Airbase.
The six hostages were released via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt before being brought to Israel.
Israel’s Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum identified the hostages as Amit Soussana and Mia Schem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office confirmed the names, as well.
The IDF said the women will travel to Hatzerim military base in southern Israel before being released.
Officials said Schem, 21, a French-Israeli, was kidnapped from the Nova Festival near the Gaza Strip after Hamas fighters launched a terror attack on Oct. 7. Shortly after the attack, Hamas released a video showing Schem, confirming she was kidnapped and still alive.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Schem’s release was “a great joy that I share with her family and all French people.
“It is a great joy that I share with his family and all French people,” Macron said. “I also express my solidarity with all those who remain hostages of Hamas. France is working with its partners to obtain their release as soon as possible.”
Additional hostages freed on Thursday were set to be released from different locations at different times because they were held in different locations in Gaza, an Israeli official told CNN.
The advocacy group Palestinian Prisoners Club shared a list of 30 Palestinian prisoners set to be freed Thursday, including 22 minors and eight women, in line with the terms of the truce that calls for three Palestinians to be released in exchange for the return of each Israeli.
Since the truce came into effect last week, dozens of Israeli hostages have been returned while more than 100 Palestinians have been freed from prison.
The truce was extended for a seventh day minutes before it was set to expire on Thursday, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken deployed to the region to negotiate a longer pause.
Blinken said that the truce has facilitated the release of hostages and the delivery of additional aid to Gaza.