Posted on 11/28/23
| News Source: Arutz-7
The release of the fifth group of Hamas hostages began this evening (Tuesday) and the ten hostages who are scheduled to be released tonight are in the process of being handed over to the Red Cross. They will return to Israel later tonight.
The return of the hostages was reportedly delayed when crowds surrounded the Red Cross vehicles in Gaza.
The hostages being freed tonight include nine women and a 17-year-old girl. The families of the hostages have been notified and are on their way to the hospitals to be reunited with their loved ones.
This group of ten hostages is being freed after an agreement was reached to extend the hostage deal and ceasefire by two days. 51 Israeli hostages have been freed since Friday under the original agreement.
About 150 people are believed to still be held as hostages in Gaza, out of 240 who were kidnapped on October 7.
The hostages who have been released have been malnourished, often losing over ten pounds during their 50 days in captivity. Families of the freed hostages have described the trauma and ill-treatment their loved ones endured. The father of nine-year-old Emily Hand told CNN that his daughter came back with her head covered in lice, while the family of 84-year-old Elma Avraham said that their mother was "on the brink of death" when she was returned with a body temperature of just 82 degrees Fahrenheit.