Three Israeli hostages, five Thais slated for release Thursday

Some of the families of hostages scheduled to be released have been informed that there are fears for their loved ones’ lives after Hamas provided Israel with information on the captives on Monday.

By JNS

Israel received from Hamas a list of three Israeli hostages and five Thai captives expected to be released on Thursday, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan News reported on Wednesday.

According to reports, they are expected to be Arbel Yehud, a civilian, Agam Berger, an IDF lookout, and Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old.

On Saturday, Hamas failed to provide a list detailing the status of the hostages slated to be released in the initial stage, as required by the terms of the deal, prompting Jerusalem to postpone the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza.

However, they were allowed to return on Monday morning. Hamas further violated the agreement by not freeing female civilians first.

Instead of releasing Yehud, the Palestinian terror group released four female soldiers on Saturday: Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19.

Yehud was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. Cunio, 27, is presumed to be alive but is not listed among those to be released in the first phase of the agreement.

Shiri Bibas, 33, another female civilian hostage, and her two young sons are on the list of hostages to be released during the first phase. However, Hamas claimed in November that they had been killed.

Some of the families of hostages scheduled to be released have been informed that there are fears for their loved ones’ lives after Hamas provided Israel with information on the captives on Monday.

The list did not specify the status of individuals and instead only included an overall number of captives who are claimed to be alive.

While Israeli officials are unable to provide relatives with definitive news regarding the possible deaths of their loved ones, the numbers were said to match the intelligence Jerusalem already possessed.

Three civilian women—Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher—were released on Jan. 19 in return for 90 terrorists (30 for each civilian) shortly after the ceasefire went into effect.