Red Cross vehicles carrying Israeli hostages enter Israeli soil Monday night
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The IDF and Shin Bet have announced that the captives released from Gaza Monday night as part of the fourth phase of the prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas have arrived on Israeli soil and are being escorted by Israeli security forces. The forces will accompany them until they reunite with their families at hospitals, following an initial medical evaluation.
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Kibbutz Nir Oz has reported that all 11 of the released hostages are members of the kibbutz. After the anticipated release, there will still be 49 captives from Nir Oz held in Gaza, including children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers.
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Top L-R: Sahar Calderon, Erez Calderon, Eitan Yahalomi, Yagil Yaakov, Or Yaakov, Sharon Aloni Cunio, Emma Cunio, Yuli Cunio, Karina Engel-Bart, Mika Engel and Yuval Engel
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Sahar and Erez Calderon and Eitan Yahalomi handed over to Red Cross
(Photo: Screenshot)
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Sharon Cunio and Mika Engel holding Cunion's little daughters Yuli and Emma
(Photo: Screenshot)
The eleven hostages are Sharon Aloni Cunio, 33, and her twin daughters Yuli and Emma, 3; Karina Engel-Bart, 51, and her daughters Mika, 18, and Yuval, 10; siblings Sahar, 16, and Erez, 12, Calderon; siblings Or, 16, and Yagil, 12, Yaakov; and Eitan Yahalomi, 12.
All children will be separated from their fathers who will remain in captivity. They are David Cunio, Ronen Engel, Ofer Calderon, Ohad Yahalomi and Yair Yaakov and his partner Meirav Tal.
Sahar and Erez Calderon
Hadas Calderon, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, has been one of the leaders in the Families' Struggle for the Release of the hostages since October 7. On Tuesday, she will finally be able to meet her children, Sahar (16-years-old) and Erez (13-years old), who were kidnapped by terrorists from the kibbutz.
However, the joy is far from complete. Their father, Ofer Calderon, remained in Gaza. Erez was seen in a video posted by the terrorists from Gaza and that's when Hadas - who was in a nearby house and rescued after eight hours in the safe room - realized that her son, her daughter and her ex-husband had been kidnapped to Gaza. 80-years-old Carmela Dan, the grandmother of Sahar and Erez, and her granddaughter Noya, 13-years-old on the autistic spectrum, were murdered in the Hamas attack in Nir Oz.
Or and Yagil Yaakov
Or Yaakov, 16, and his brother Yagil, 13, were alone in their home in Nir Oz on October 7 and hid in the safe room. They managed to inform their mother about the terrorists' infiltration. "Don't take me, I'm too young," Yagil said to one of the attackers. On that same day, the two were seen in a video that was circulated.
This was not the last time Gil was seen in Gaza. In a psychological terror video published by the Islamic Jihad, he was photographed next to Hana Katzir, who was released in the first round. Last night they returned to Israel, and were reunited with their mother Renana. However, in addition to the two brothers, their father Yair and his partner Meirav Tal were also kidnapped to Gaza. They are still in captivity.
Sharon Aloni Cunio, and her twin daughters Yuli and Emma
On Friday, Daniel Aloni and his 6-year-old daughter Emilia returned home from Hamas captivity. Today, the family will welcome Daniel's sister, Sharon Aloni-Konyo, and the three-year-old twin daughters Yuli and Emma. But the father David Konio, his brother Ariel and his partner Arbel Yehud remained in Gaza.
Karina Engel-Bart, and her daughters Mika and Yuval
She managed to defeat cancer and survived captivity: Two years after recovering from cancer, Karina Engel-Bart returned to Israel on Monday, after 52 days in captivity in Gaza. She was accompanied by her daughters Mika (18) and Yuval (11). Yuval was injured in her leg on October 7, and was documented being transported into the Red Cross vehicle on a wheelchair. Karina's partner, Ronen Engel, is still in captivity.
Ronen's brother, Danny, shared that in the morning of the massacre, he corresponded with Ronen on WhatsApp: "After seeing pictures of terrorists entering Be'eri, I messaged Karina. She wrote that they were in the safe room and that my brother was armed, next to the door. That was my last communication with them." Since then the family has been in captivity in Gaza. Last night the mother and daughters returned to Israel without their father.
Eitan Yahalomi
Eitan Yehielumi, just 12 years old, was abducted from Nir Oz to Gaza alone. After 52 days in captivity, he finally returned to Israel and will reunite with his mother Bat-Sheva, his younger sister Yael (10), and his other sister, a baby. However, his father Ohad, who protected his family, was shot by the terrorists and kidnapped; he did not return with Eitan.
"On that Saturday, we woke up at 6:30 to the sirens, and we all went to the safe room," said Bat Sheva, Eitan's mother. "At a certain point, we began to hear machine gun fire on the house. The door to our safe room wouldn't close, so Ohad decided to go out and wedge the door shut for us – it was the only way to secure it. He told us from beyond the door that he loves us and messaged friends that he hears the terrorists and we don't have much time. Around 10:00, they broke into the house, shot Ohad, and managed to enter the safe room.
"Four armed terrorists pointed their weapons at us and forced us to come out. We saw Ohad sitting injured; he told us to go with them and that he loves us. One of them filmed me, and I pleaded in the video that they take me and not the children. They took Eitan on one motorcycle and me with the girls on another and drove towards the border.
"As we saw the Gaza settlement facing Nir Oz, two tanks appeared. The terrorists panicked and started firing in all directions. Our motorcycle fell to the side, and the motorcycle with Eitan continued ahead, and I haven't seen it since. We ran, in our pajamas, barefoot, through the fields. The missiles whizzed over our heads. We reached the kibbutz factory, which wasn't on fire, and saw a bus arriving - it was the first bus with soldiers that came to Nir Oz. After a while, they entered our home and didn't find Ohad. A few days later, we received a message that he had been kidnapped."
Six Thai nationals were also released
The chairperson of the kibbutz, Osnat Perry, said, "There is a great sigh of relief in the kibbutz tonight, but at the same time, there is great concern for our loved ones still held by Hamas. We demand the immediate return of all the hostages, at any cost required."
The Health Ministry said that the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv is fully prepared to welcome the 11 returned captives and they will be provided with necessary medical and psychological care. Per the Ministry's statement, the freed abductees will have their first reunion with their families since their capture at the hospital.
Six Thai nationals are also expected to be released on Monday, the Egyptian Alqahera Al Akhbariya channel reported.
Meanwhile, the Government Secretariat has requested ministers to approve an increase in the optional list of names for release in the hostage exchange deal by about 60, in addition to the 300 already approved by the government.
A political source said that this decision was made to expand the negotiating room with Hamas. According to the agreed-upon framework, one Israeli captive is to be released for every three Palestinian prisoners.
This comes after a White House official confirmed that Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the truce in Gaza, without offering more details.
Earlier, Hamas confirmed to mediators that "it has a phase ready for an additional day of releasing captives," without providing further details, according to a report in the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian source revealed that "negotiations are underway regarding guarantees requested by Hamas related to Israel, including the entry of fuel trucks and their delivery to hospitals in northern Gaza Strip."
Additionally, the same source stated that "Hamas has informed mediators it has evidence of several captives held by the Islamic Jihad, which could extend the cease-fire by another four days," but added that "the matter is subject to further guarantees."
The source also noted that "mediators demanded that the cease-fire should also include the West Bank and East Jerusalem, to ensure that the violations of the occupation cease throughout the negotiation period."
First published: 20:33, 11.27.23