Hamas releases remains of just 4 deceased hostages, leaving 24 still unaccounted for
(JNS) — Hours after freeing 20 living hostages to a jubilant Israel, Hamas released the remains of four deceased hostages — far fewer than the 28 it is holding and obligated under the terms of the ceasefire to release.
The group had already indicated that it was not prepared to release all of the deceased hostages’ remains immediately, following two years of war in Gaza. Still, the small number of bodies released on Monday represented a disappointment for many who had hoped that Monday would bring closure to those who have spent years lobbying for the hostages’ release.
Hamas said the hostages released on Monday were Guy Illouz, Bipin Joshi, Daniel Perez and Yossi Sharabi. Subsequent DNA testing confirmed that Illouz and Joshi were in the group; the identities of the other two remains were not immediately confirmed at their families’ instruction.
Illouz, 26, was injured during the attack on the Nova music festival. A returned hostage said he had been killed.
Joshi, 23, was a Nepalese agriculture student who had arrived in Israel just weeks before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He had not previously been confirmed dead, though Israel had expressed “grave concern” about his life. His family had joined lobbying efforts on behalf of the hostages and last week released a video produced by Hamas that showed him alive in Gaza at least a month after he was taken hostage.
Israelis are comparing Trump to Cyrus the Great – again
(JTA) — As their last living hostages returned home from Gaza after two years of war, Israelis gave visiting President Donald Trump a hero’s welcome — and threw out some lofty comparisons.
“Mr. President, you stand before the people of Israel not as another American president, but as a giant of Jewish history — one for whom we must look back, two-and-a-half millennia into the mists of time, to find a parallel, in Cyrus the Great,” Amir Ohana, speaker of the Knesset, told Trump on Monday as he welcomed the president for a victory speech to the Israeli parliament.
To be compared to Cyrus is no small thing. Living around 600 BCE and shrouded in myth, the Persian ruler is traditionally credited with granting Jews permission to return from exile in Babylon to the land of Israel and for helping them to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Because Cyrus was a pagan who by force seized and ruled over a vast empire, he tends to be treated as an imperfect yet essential vessel for God’s divine plan for the Jews, and is widely celebrated in Jewish history.
It’s a comparison that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also made. Visiting the White House in 2018 during Trump’s first term, shortly after the president moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Netanyahu situated Trump in a long line of friendly world leaders including Cyrus, Lord Balfour and President Harry Truman — all of whom he said helped return the Jews to their rightful homes in Israel.
Elation in Hostages Square: ‘After two years, we can finally breathe’
(JNS) — Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, which since Oct. 7, 2023, has stood as a symbol of pain, hope and perseverance, turned joyous overnight as tears of despair were replaced by those of relief and happiness.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, October 8, that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement, under which all 48 Israeli hostages would be released in the first phase, the square filled with families of the hostages, volunteers and Israelis who simply couldn’t stay home.
Dani Miran, the father of Omri Miran, set to return home as part of the deal, said: “This morning I’m full of joy. I haven’t felt this way in two years. Just look at this happiness, it’s greater than the birth of a child. You wait nine months for a baby, but I’ve waited two years. We haven’t told the girls yet. We want him back here first.”
Rotem Kuper, the son of Amiram Kuper, who was kidnapped and murdered in Gaza, and of Nurit Kuper, who was released weeks later, said: “It’s all becoming real. Emotions are bubbling up. This is a wound that will never fully heal, and every time we confront it, the feelings return, mixed and raw. Still, we’re trying to be happy. The hostages are coming home. Our beloved soldiers are coming home.”
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan, held a sign that read: “The clock keeps ticking, counting down the seconds until all 48 return home! The joy is overwhelming and justified, but our hearts and our struggle won’t rest until the last of the hostages is back.”
Israeli Air Force downs two Houthi drones
(JNS) — The Israeli Air Force on Wednesday night intercepted two Houthi drones launched from Yemen, according to the Israeli military.
The first UAV was downed over open areas without triggering public alerts, the Israel Defense Forces said at 10:29 p.m. A second was intercepted about an hour later near Israel’s border with Egypt, triggering sirens.
It was the second Houthi drone attack in as many days. The IDF on Tuesday intercepted three drones that had been launched toward Eilat, the military confirmed. The attacks triggered sirens in the resort city but caused no injuries or damage.
On Sunday, the IDF “likely intercepted” another UAV launched toward Eilat by the Iranian-backed Houthis. Earlier that day, Israeli air defenses shot down a ballistic missile fired by the terrorist organization, triggering alerts across Israel’s densely populated center as well as in parts of Judea and Samaria.
The Houthis have carried out attacks on the Jewish state — including a drone strike that wounded 22 Israelis in Eilat on Sept. 24 — since the Hamas-led terrorist assault on Oct. 7, 2023.
In response, Jerusalem has conducted several rounds of strikes against the Yemeni terrorist organization, including an Aug. 28 operation that killed its “prime minister” and several other senior Houthi officials.
