Hamas released a Dutch hostage on Wednesday. As far as we know, eighteen-year-old Ofir Engel was the only Dutchman stranded in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Information and Documentation Center (CIDI) also reported that Engel is part of the group of hostages handed over to the Red Cross on Wednesday. It was also said that his sixteen-year-old neighbor had been released.
Hamas kidnapped Engel from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. In an attempt to expedite his release, he was granted Dutch citizenship through an emergency procedure. The boy’s grandfather, 77-year-old Joscha Engel, has a Dutch mother. After the kidnapping, he contacted the Dutch embassy in Israel.
The Israeli army confirms that fourteen people are on their way to Israel. In addition to ten Israeli hostages, five of whom hold dual citizenship, four Thai nationals were also released.
Earlier today, two Israeli-Russian hostages had already been handed over to the Red Cross.
This is the sixth and last time that Hamas has released hostages. The temporary truce expires early Thursday morning, and the two sides have not yet agreed to extend it.
In exchange for the release of the hostages, Israel must release another group of 30 Palestinian prisoners. In recent days, 180 Palestinians have been released. Including the last fourteen people, Hamas released 102 hostages.
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