Father of last slain Israeli hostage fears his son won’t return

The father of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, one of two deceased hostages still held in Gaza, said on Thursday that Hamas claims not to know where his son’s body is located and expressed fear Israel may never recover him. Read more

Israel identifies returned body as Meny Godard

Israeli medical examiners confirmed that the latest body returned by Hamas was Menahem “Meny” Godard, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Thursday morning. Read more

Ex-hostage twins attend first Maccabi Tel Aviv game since release

Gal and Ziv Berman, who endured 772 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, arrived on Sunday night at Bloomfield Stadium for a soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. and Beitar Jerusalem F.C., the first since before their abduction. Read more

Omer Shem Tov tells his story of faith, survival and unbreakable hope

UIA Australia will welcome Omer Shem Tov and his mother Shelly for a special visit to Sydney and Melbourne in November, where they will share their remarkable story of courage, faith and love that captured the hearts of the Jewish world. Read more

Netanyahu rejects partial hostage deal

Amid renewed reports of Hamas’ flexibility on a phased ceasefire-hostage agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declared Saturday night that Israel will only accept a comprehensive deal that secures the release of all captives at once. Read more

Australian broadcaster Erin Molan protests for hostages in Sydney

On August 3, nearly 22 months after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, tens of thousands of Australians converged on Sydney’s iconic Harbor Bridge in what they called a “March for Humanity” in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. Read more

A two-state solution? Maybe the best way to ‘ensure’ another slaughter

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Gal Gadot calls for hostage return at Jerusalem Film Festival

Gal Gadot spoke of her hopes for the return of all the hostages held in Gaza, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 42nd Jerusalem Film Festival at the Sultan’s Pool amphitheatre on Thursday night. Read more

Israeli envoy condemns ‘glaring silence’ from UN agencies

Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, political coordinator for the Israeli mission to the United Nations, criticised several U.N. agencies during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which she said “has continued to abandon all semblance of neutrality and impartiality.” Read more

‘You are safe, you are home’: Edan Alexander back in Israel after 584 days in captivity

Staff Sgt. Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier, was freed after 584 days in Hamas captivity, returning to Israel in an emotional moment that briefly paused fighting in Gaza. Read more

Hostage survivor: Pulitzer Prize to antisemitic Gaza poet ‘desecrates’ memory of victims

A former Israeli hostage denounced the Pulitzer Prize committee for giving an award to a Palestinian journalist who spread antisemitic content and fake news on his social media platforms and excused Hamas’ October 7 abductions. Read more

Israel confirms death of soldier, 19, held captive in Gaza

The Israel Defence Forces confirmed on Tuesday the death of a 19-year-old soldier taken captive on October 7. Read more

Family marks baby boy’s first birthday in Hamas captivity

“It’s my birthday and no one will celebrate with me,” Yossi Schneider read out from a letter as family members and representatives of the Hostage and Missing Families Forum marked Kfir Bibas’s first birthday in Nir Oz. Read more

Israeli UN envoy: ‘How morally bankrupt has this body become?’

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, ripped into the U.N. General Assembly during a Tuesday morning meeting while holding up a cake with the face of Kfir Bibas, who will turn one year old in the coming days. Read more

Freed South African-Israeli gives searing testimony of Gaza captivity

A South African-Israeli woman freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza after 51 days delivered searing testimony about her experiences there to a Knesset panel on Tuesday. Read more

American-Israeli missing since Hamas attack declared dead

A 70-year-old American-Israeli teacher who was shot by Hamas terrorists when out for a walk with her husband at their kibbutz on the morning of Oct. 7 has been declared dead, her community announced Thursday. Read more

Gadi Haggai, 73, first US hostage confirmed killed by Hamas

An Israeli-American is the first U.S. citizen taken hostage who has died in Hamas captivity in Gaza, a group representing the families of Hamas prisoners announced on Friday. Read more

‘It reminded me of the Holocaust,’ says grandma freed from Gaza

Terrified, hungry and all alone in captivity in Gaza for over a month, Argentinian-born Ofelia Roitman hoarded small pieces of pita bread from the meagre rations she received from her Hamas terrorist captors. Read more

27-year-old Israeli hostage confirmed murdered in captivity

The family of Israeli hostage Inbar Haiman received confirmation from the Israel Defence Forces that the 27-year-old was murdered by Hamas, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said on Saturday. Read more

Israel recovers another hostage’s body from Gaza

Israeli soldiers have recovered the body of hostage Elia Toledano, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday morning. Read more

Israeli hostage in Gaza killed in captivity

Sahar Baruch, a 25-year-old Israeli who was taken hostage on October 7, has died in captivity, Kibbutz Be’eri announced on Saturday of its former resident. Read more

Mideast truce talks intensify as more hostages released

International pressure is growing on Israel and Hamas to extend a truce after another exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid was delivered to the besieged Gaza Strip. Read more

Hamas releases 24 hostages during truce, more to follow

Israel has received another list of hostages set to be freed from Gaza by Palestinian militant group Hamas, following the release of 24 hostages during the first day of a planned four-day truce. Read more

Qatar wants to negotiate captured Israelis, jailed Palestinians swap

Qatari mediators have held urgent calls with Hamas to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by the militant group and held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source briefed on the talks says. Read more

Texas hostage-taker raised no red flags

The gunman who took four people hostage at a Texas synagogue in a 10-hour standoff that ended in his death was checked against law enforcement databases before entering the US but raised no red flags, the White House says. Read more