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.



Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world.

The UN health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more.

WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat.

Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah in the country two months ago.

The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday.