Hostages Freed

 

I'm pleased to report that the last of the living hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th massacre have been set free. They were taken from the border post between Israel and Gaza to a medical facility and then reunited with their families. The last two years have been nightmarish for them all. Many who were taken have not survived and four dead bodies have also been repatriated. The experience of being held in an underground dungeon by Hamas, although awful for everybody, varied in its severity. Matan Angrest, a man of twenty-two who had been at the Be'eri festival, reports constant torture. He was beaten to the point of unconsciousness regularly and deprived of food and water. He was told by his captors, falsely, that his family were all dead and that Israel was being invaded and conquered. Conversely, one of the Nova festival organizers, Elkana Bohbot, was treated comparatively well. He was allowed to watch TV and shown pictures of his family and messages from them. He played cards and board games with his captors and they even let him help with the cooking. Some of them spoke Hebrew to him to help him communicate. The end to the hostage crisis was made in return for Israel releasing two thousand Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The horrific bombardment of Gaza has ceased and Israel says it is committed to a phased withdrawal of its troops from Gaza. This new armistice was mediated by the United States with the help of several other Middle Eastern nations. It was first drafted back in May last year, but has only just been implemented. Already it looks like it might break down. Some of those kidnapped on October the 7th are still missing and Hamas claim they were killed in Israel attacks, but they cannot produce the bodies. Israel has also been accused of illegal military action after the hostage releases in violation of their initial demands. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgqx7ygq41o. I hope this ceasefire works for the sake of all the people who have suffered in this conflict. Even if these problems are solved there are others that won't go away so easily. The questions raised by Efrat Fenigson remain unanswered, see: https://www.efrat.blog/p/oct-7-did-they-know-and-allow-it and the background links below. I'm also very concerned that Tony Blair has been nominated to lead a provisional post-war government in Gaza. I fear for the people there. Whatever hell they have been put through during the last twenty-four months it will pale into insignificance compared to whatever that demon plans to do to them. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3drmk95xlzo. Luckily there are powerful voices opposed to Blair's appointment, including Hamas itself, which remains one of the negotiating parties. As I've said before, the only hope for long-term stability in the region is for the international meddlers who fuel the conflict, on both sides, with money and guns to release their grip and leave the people of the Holy Land to their own devices.
See here for background: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2023/10/israel-war-livestream.html.
And: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2024/06/with-rin-michaelis-10-israel-hamas.html.