Twelve hostages released by Hamas — nine Israeli woman, one Israeli female teenager, and two male Thai workers — are safe in Israel after a harrowing transfer in which they were jeered by a crowd of Hamas terrorists and supporters as they left Gaza.
Islamic Jihad terrorists, who are also controlled by Iran, were seen at the transfer, evidently eager to share credit for the affair.
Many people in the crowd yelled “Allahu akbar!” (“God is great!”) as the bewildered hostages were walked or wheeled to Red Cross vans.
The Israeli hostages are (per Israel’s Government Press Office):
- Tamar Metzger (78)
- Ditza Heiman (84)
- Noralin Babadila (60)
- Ada Sagi (75)
- Ofelia Adit Roitman (77)
- Rimon Kirsht (36)
- Meirav Tal (53)
- Leimberg family:
- Gabriela Leimberg (59)
- Mia Leimberg (17)
- Clara Marman (63)
The community of Kibbutz Nir Oz released a statement:
The residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz welcome the expected return of five out of the 76 people that were brutally abducted from Nir Oz on October 7th. The following members of our community have returned to Israel after being held hostage for 52 days. We hope for their good physical and psychological health in the days ahead:
Ditza Heiman (84)
Tamar (Tammy) Metzger (78)
Ofelia Roitman (77)
Ada Sagi (75)
Meirav Tal (53)These women returned from captivity are the foundation of our community and our country. Without a strong foundation, a community has no future. They were held captive, in harsh conditions and deprived of essential medical care. Two of the women released have been separated from their husbands, who remain in captivity. The Nir Oz community is committed to support them, and their families, through the long recovery process ahead.
Our hearts remain with the 43 members of our community along with all the hostages still held in Gaza. Many families from our Kibbutz remain without their loved ones by their side and are deeply concerned for their wellbeing.
The continued denial of medical care to wounded, sick and elderly hostages, puts their lives at risk. Time is running out.Over one quarter of the Nir Oz community was abducted or murdered during the horrific attack on October 7th. A third of all the hostages abducted from Israel are from our community. We demand the immediate release of every single person abducted that day.
It is important to note that three Thai nationals who were abducted from the kibbutz, are still held hostage. At this time, we do not have information if they are amongst those listed for release this evening.
The Nir Oz community will continue the fight until the last hostage is returned.
There is one more agreed-upon hostage release to take place Wednesday, the final day of the truce — though talks are ongoing about possible extensions. Many in Israel — including, reportedly, some military officers on the ground in Gaza — wish to resume fighting to destroy Hamas.
Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right leader within the governing coalition, threatened to quit and to try to topple the government if the military did not return to war and take the fight to Hamas, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised.
It is not clear he would have the seats to force new elections, however, as there is currently an emergency government of national unity that includes the Blue and White opposition party.
In his evening briefing, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari noted that Hamas had violated the ceasefire earlier Tuesday, and warned that Israel would not tolerate such violations in the future.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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