Israel Reviews List of Hostages Set to be Freed by Hamas on Saturday

An image grab from a handout video released by the Hamas Media Office shows a member of its Al-Qassam Brigades handing carrying a hostage over to officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on November 24, 2023, ahead of their transfer to Israel. (Photo by HAMAS MEDIA OFFICE / AFP) /
An image grab from a handout video released by the Hamas Media Office shows a member of its Al-Qassam Brigades handing carrying a hostage over to officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on November 24, 2023, ahead of their transfer to Israel. (Photo by HAMAS MEDIA OFFICE / AFP) /
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Israel Reviews List of Hostages Set to be Freed by Hamas on Saturday

An image grab from a handout video released by the Hamas Media Office shows a member of its Al-Qassam Brigades handing carrying a hostage over to officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on November 24, 2023, ahead of their transfer to Israel. (Photo by HAMAS MEDIA OFFICE / AFP) /
An image grab from a handout video released by the Hamas Media Office shows a member of its Al-Qassam Brigades handing carrying a hostage over to officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on November 24, 2023, ahead of their transfer to Israel. (Photo by HAMAS MEDIA OFFICE / AFP) /

Israel has received a list of hostages to be freed from Gaza on Saturday by Hamas, officials said, following the release of 24 hostages the previous day, the first of a planned four-day truce.
Israeli security officials were reviewing the list, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, after his government's vow to work for the release of all hostages taken by Hamas in an attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The pause in the fighting was the first such break, with both sides saying hostilities would resume as soon as the truce ends.

The released hostages, including Israeli women and children and Thai farm workers, were transferred from Gaza and handed to Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, along with eight staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross in a four-car convoy, the organization said.

They were then taken to Israel for medical checks and re-unions with relatives.
Qatar, which acted as mediator for the truce deal, said 13 Israelis had been released, some with dual nationality, as well as 10 Thais and a Philippine national - farm workers employed in southern Israel when they were seized.

Thirty-nine Palestinian women and children were released from Israeli jails.

The freed Israeli hostages included four children accompanied by four family members, and five elderly women.



Iraq to Resume Flights to Lebanon on Monday, Transport Minister Says

A view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows an Iraqi Airways airplane docked after resuming flights to Lebanon, after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, at Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2024. (Reuters)
A view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows an Iraqi Airways airplane docked after resuming flights to Lebanon, after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, at Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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Iraq to Resume Flights to Lebanon on Monday, Transport Minister Says

A view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows an Iraqi Airways airplane docked after resuming flights to Lebanon, after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, at Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2024. (Reuters)
A view from the window of a Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA) airplane shows an Iraqi Airways airplane docked after resuming flights to Lebanon, after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, at Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2024. (Reuters)

Iraq will allow the national carrier to resume flights to Lebanon on Monday following their suspension earlier this month, the transport minister was quoted as saying by state media on Saturday.

Iraqi Airways halted flights to Lebanon on Dec. 8 due to security concerns about the situation in neighboring Syria.

Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family's decades-long rule.