Hamas has said on its Telegram channel that it has released two of his hostages after negotiations with Qatar and Egypt. The hostages have been identified as Israeli citizens Nurit Yitzhak and Yochved Lifshitz. Sources told CNBC that they were released to the Red Cross. Hamas said it released the hostages for “compelling humanitarian” reasons.
Abu Ubaiba, a military spokesman from Al-Qassam Brigades that operates in the West Bank, said that Hamas decided to release the women even though Israel has refused to stop its airstrikes. “We have decided to release them for compelling humanitarian and satisfactory reasons despite the occupation committing more than 8 violations of the procedures that were agreed upon with the mediator brothers that the occupation would adhere to during this day to complete the handover process,” the spokesman said on Telegram.
Lifshitz’s grandson said in an interview with Haaretz that the family is “happy and satisfied with the official announcement” and is hopeful it is “just the beginning of what’s to come.” “We are looking forward to their release and that of the other hostages from our kibbutz and in general,” the grandson, Daniel Lifshitz, said. “We hope she is okay. We are going to see her now.
Last week, Hamas released American mother-and-daughter Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan. Yitzhak and Lifshitz are the latest hostages to be released by the terrorist group.
Meanwhile, an elite unit of Israeli agents has now been formed with the aim of killing every single Hamas terrorist who was involved in the brutal October 7 massacre. Shin Bet is Israel’s version of the FBI. According to the Jerusalem Post, the specially selected members will function independently from other units.
The new unit has planned to specifically target members of the special Hamas commando group called Nukhba. This is the group that is believed to have planned and launched the attack that killed hundreds of civilians along the country’s border with the Gaza Strip.
Shin Bet is named after the World War I-era Jewish underground organisation “Nili,” which is an acronym in Hebrew for “the Eternal One of Israel will not lie,” according to the Times of Israel. The new unit will be using intelligence and agents in the field to eliminate about 2,500 terrorists involved in the attack. To date, the Israel Defense Forces has announced the deaths of Nukhba operatives including Billal al-Qedra, the head of the terror group’s Khan Younis battalion, and commander Ali Qadhi.
