Israel at war: What happened on day 51?

The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday it had completed the release of 19 Palestinian detainees from Israeli detention centers.

The organization, which earlier released and transferred 17 hostages from Gaza, did not give further details.

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, accused by civil rights groups of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on his X social media platform, will meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday along with Israelis whose relatives have been held by Hamas in Gaza.

Herzog's office announced the meeting on Sunday night, saying, "In their meeting, the president will emphasize the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online."

Musk, a billionaire who also runs Tesla TSLA.O and SpaceX, did not respond to requests for comment through spokespeople for Tesla and X, formerly known as Twitter.

Musk's visit coincides with a four-day truce in an Israeli war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza during which 40 of the 240 hostages Israel says have been held by Hamas have returned to Israel.

Israel's Channel 12 said Musk would also meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. There was no immediate comment from his office.

Elon Musk Twitter account is seen in this illustration taken, July 24, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION/FILE PHOTO)

Musk's mixed signals on antisemitism

Netanyahu met Musk in California on Sept. 18 and urged him to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech after weeks of controversy over antisemitic content on X.

Musk responded by saying he was against antisemitism and against anything that "promotes hate and conflict," repeating his previous statements that X would not promote hate speech.

During that visit, before the war, about 200 people protested efforts by Netanyahu's right-wing government to curb the powers of Israeli courts. They gathered outside Tesla's California factory, where the meeting took place.

Then on Nov. 15 Musk agreed with a post on X that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the user who referenced the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory was speaking "the actual truth."

The White House condemned what it called an "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate" that "runs against our core values as Americans."

Major US companies including Walt Disney DIS.N, Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O and NBCUniversal parent Comcast CMCSA.O paused their advertisements on his social media site.

The "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory holds that Jewish people and leftists are engineering the ethnic and cultural replacement of white populations with non-white immigrants that will lead to a "white genocide."

Antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen in the United States and worldwide, including during the now seven-week-old war between Israel and Hamas.

Following the outbreak of war, antisemitic incidents in the United States rose by nearly 400% from the year-earlier period, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that fights antisemitism.

Musk has said X should be a platform for people to post diverse viewpoints, but the company will limit the distribution of certain posts that may violate its policies, calling the approach "freedom of speech, not reach."

Musk is developing an artificial intelligence startup xAI, and Israel is considered a world leader in the field, thanks to burgeoning computing and robotics industries.

Israel's almost $500 billion economy, previously on track for growth to top 3% this year with low unemployment, is now estimated at around 2% with slow growth expected in 2024 as long as the war continues.

After an initial 6% tumble the outset of the war, the shekel ILS= has gained 8% against the dollar and is now at pre-war levels. Helped mainly by local investors, stock prices have also recovered from a steep drop last month.

Released hostage Elma Avraham, 84 years old, was returned from Hamas captivity in serious, life-threatening condition, Soroka Medical Center confirmed on Sunday night.

Elma was released along with 13 other Israeli and three Thai hostages on Sunday, on the third day of Israel's ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

The 84-year-old was rushed to the Beersheba hospital via helicopter immediately upon her reentry into Israel on Sunday night.

84-year-old Alma Avraham, who was just released from Hamas captivity after 50 weeks, is the Israeli who is in serious medical condition & evacuated by helicopter directly to hospital in Israel.

Should anything, God forbid, happen to her, the blood will be on hands of Hamas! pic.twitter.com/EeDEGBSXHX

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) November 26, 2023

The hospital's director gave a statement on Sunday night. Dr. Shlomi Kodesh said that it was evident from the hostage's condition upon release that she was not cared for by her Hamas captives.

Avraham's family members at Beersheba hospital

Israel's Health Ministry said that Avraham's family members were waiting for her at the hospital as she was treated.

This is a developing story.

Hamas sought to extend the four-day pause in the Gaza war Sunday night, after it had completed 80% of a hostage deal that went into effect Friday, releasing 40 Israelis, one Filipino and 17 Thai citizens over the last three days.

A jubilant Israel welcomed 14 of those Israelis and three Thai citizens on Sunday, including Avigail Idan (4) who also holds American citizenship.

Hamas killed her parents in front of her in Kfar Aza during the group’s attack on Southern Israel on October 7, when terrorists seized some 240 hostages.

“We are moved to the depth of our souls,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

IDF Spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters, “This is an emotional day, but we have not forgotten for a moment the hostages that have been held in captivity in Gaza for over 51 days,” The IDF is prepared to resume its military campaign, he said, as he spoke of the war against Hamas sparked by the October 7 attack, in which the terror group killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel.

Yahel Shoham after being freed from Hamas captivity, November 25, 2023. (credit: Courtesy)

The next phase of the war

Plans for the next phase of the war have already been approved, Hagari said, adding that “as long as we can free hostages from Hamas captivity, we will do it.”

Qatar, which mediated the original hostage deal even though it has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel, sent an intelligence delegation to Israel on Saturday to discuss extending the deal.

Mossad officials hosted their Qatari counterparts, including on Sunday, to confer on the recovery of hostages held by Hamas and other elements of a Gaza truce, an Israeli security official said on Sunday.

Cooperation between Qatari and Israeli security agencies is "traditionally close", despite the lack of formal relations between the countries, the official said.

The war cabinet met on Sunday night to debate the possibility of extending the pause. US President Joe Biden told reporters on Sunday that he would work to make that happen.

Reuters contributed to this report