Israel at war: What happened on day 51?

Thirteen Israeli citizens taken hostage in Gaza were released by Palestinian terror group Hamas and brought back into Israel by the IDF, Israel confirmed on Sunday evening.

In addition, one Russian-Israeli was released as requested by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as three Thai citizens. The four were released via the Rafah crossing.

Hostages arrived in IDF custody and reentered Israel on Sunday evening. Elma Avraham was rushed to a hospital by helicopter upon reentry in serious condition, Israeli media reported. The remaining 12 freed hostages are arriving at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev for an initial medical assessment.

The list of released hostages included: Avigail Idan, three years old; the Brodutch family: Hagar (40), Ofri (10), Yuval (8) and Uriah (4); Ella and Dafna Elyakim, eight and 15 years old; the Almog-Goldstein family: Chen (48), Agam (17), Gal (11) and Tal (9); Elma Avraham, 84 years old; Aviva Siegel, 64 years old.

Roni Krivoy is the hostage who holds Russian citizenship, who was released thanks to direct intervention from Putin. He was welcomed back to Karmiel by Mayor Moshe Koninski, who said "The city of Karmiel welcomes Roni's release and rejoices together with his parents Oleg and Marina and brothers Yulia and Igor."

Israel has summoned Ireland’s Ambassador to Israel Sonya McGuinness to protest Dublin’s reference to Gaza hostage Emily Hand as a “lost child” who has been “found” following her return to Israel late Saturday night.

Hand, a nine-year-old Israeli-Irish girl, was among the some 240 people seized by Hamas during its attack on southern Israel on October 7 and was initially believed to have been killed by the terror group.

“This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar wrote in a post on X.

“An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen posted that the statement was “outrageous.”

Palestinian terror group Hamas released on Sunday afternoon a Israeli-Russian dual citizen taken hostage from Gaza, it said, according to Israeli media.

Hamas was set to release the Russians following the intervention and at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Gaza Strip should be put under the control and sovereignty of the Palestinian Authority, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday.

This call was made in a statement released on Thursday evening from his office in Ramallah, following meetings with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croix. There, Abbas emphasized that there is no security or military solution for Gaza other than its return to the Palestinian Authority.

"Gaza is an inseparable part of the Palestinian state," he said.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said there was "reason to believe" a US hostage would be released from captivity in Gaza on Sunday.

"We have reason to believe that one of those Americans will be released today," Sullivan told NBC's "Meet the Press".

Sullivan declined to give the identity of the hostage who might be released. When asked whether it was a four-year-old girl whose parents were killed, he said: "We have a sense of who it is but I am just not in a position to confirm it."

Israel and Hamas have agreed to swap 50 hostages held by the Palestinian terrorist group for 150 prisoners in Israeli jails over a four-day truce period.

So far, Hamas has released 26 Israelis and four Thai nationals it had held as hostages, while Israel has freed 78 Palestinians.

Egypt received lists of 13 Israeli hostages and 39 Palestinians scheduled for release on Sunday, the third batch in the four-day truce deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar, Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement.

"The truce is proceeding without roadblocks," the statement said, adding that 120 aid tucks crossed from Egypt to Gaza on Sunday including two fuel trucks and two with gas for cooking.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a press statement on Sunday calling on the Qatari mediator who arrived in Israel on Saturday.

The families of the abductees, together with the diplomatic faculty at the headquarters, sent an urgent letter to the Qatari delegation that arrived in Israel yesterday, requesting to hold an urgent meeting today with the representatives of the families and the heads of the diplomatic department of the headquarters.

Hila Rotem, 13 years old, returned Saturday night from Hamas captivity as part of the second campaign to release hostages.

She told Israeli media today that her mother was present with her during the entire period of captivity, except for the last two days. "Hamas separated us two days before the liberation," she claimed. She also added that her mother's condition was good.
 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said there was "reason to believe" a U.S. hostage would be released from captivity in Gaza on Sunday, NBC reported.

 This is a developing story.

Iran has appeared to shift gears during the pause in fighting in Gaza. Like Israel, it must step back and look at what it believes it has achieved. From the Iranian regime’s standpoint, it believes it has achieved a lot.

It has been able to coordinate attacks on Israel by pushing Hezbollah and the Houthis to carry out attacks. It has mobilized pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria to attack US forces. It has also negotiated with Thailand on behalf of Hamas to release Thai workers held in Gaza.

Iran achieved many things during the war

So far it looks like Iran has achieved many things it wants. It likely has other plans for expanding the operations of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jenin and for increasing support for Hamas in the West Bank. But these are long-term goals. Short term, Iran is pleased to see Hezbollah using weapons like the heavy rocket called Burkan, for attacks. It is pleased to see the Houthis hijack a ship and see Houthi propaganda spread in the region.

Iran’s leaders said on Sunday that they believe Hamas was able to force Israel to come to an agreement on a pause or ceasefire in fighting. The commander of Iran’s armed forces Maj. Gen. Sayyed Mousavi said that Iran was able to bring Israel to the negotiating table. He also said the war has shown the West’s commitments to human rights are hypocritical.