IDF says 14 Israeli captives and 3 foreign nationals have been transferred to the Red Cross in third tranche of hostage releases.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Fourteen Israeli captives and three foreign nationals held by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza were transferred to the custody of the International Red Cross Sunday evening, the IDF said, and were returned to Israeli territory.
The 17 hostages were handed over as the third tranche of a four-part deal signed by Israel and Hamas, and brokered by Qatar and the U.S.
Hamas committed to released 12-13 Israeli captives each day during the four-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but additionally released a man with dual Russian-Israeli citizenship, identified as 25-year-old Ron Olegovich Krivoy, as a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The remaining three hostages released Sunday are Thai citizens who had been working in southern Israel prior to the invasion of October 7th. Their release is part of an agreement reached between Iran and Bangkok.
Of the 14 Israelis released Sunday, nine are children, four are women, and one is a man.
The freed captives include three siblings: four-year-old Oriya Brodetz, his 10-year-old sister, Ofri, and their eight-year-old brother, Yuval.
The children’s mother, 40-year-old Hagar Brodetz, was also released to the Red Cross.
Avihai Brodetz, Hagar’s husband and the children’s father, was wounded while fighting terrorists outside their Kfar Aza home on October 7th. When he returned home, he discovered that his family had been abducted.
In addition, the four surviving members of the Goldstein-Almog family were also transferred to the International Red Cross Sunday evening.
Nadav Goldstein-Almog of Kfar Aza was murdered during the October 7th invasion, along with the family’s eldest daughter, Yam.
Chen Goldstein-Almog, 48, and her three surviving children – 17-year-old Agam, 11-year-old Gal, and 8-year-old Tal – were released to the International Red Cross.
Also released Sunday is Avigail Idan, a four-year-old dual Israeli-American citizen whose parents were both murdered on October 7th.
Her nine-year-old brother, Michael, was not abducted.
The other hostages include South African-born kindergarten teacher Adrienne (Aviva) Siegel, 62, 84-year-old Nahal Oz resident Alma Avraham, and sisters Ela Elyakim, 8, and Dafna Elyakim, residents of Nahal Oz.
Alma Avraham is listed in serious condition, and was airlifted directly to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.