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Since the ceasefire began on 19 January, 16 Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released in exchange for 766 prisoners. Ben Ami and Sharabi were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7. Ben Ami’s wife, Raz, was also kidnapped, but she was released as part of a separate exchange deal in November 2023.
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Trump announced earlier on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would travel to Ukraine later this week. Waltz said Mr Fogel’s release was a “sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine”. US basketball star Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Russia on a similar charge of cannabis possession in 2022, was freed in an exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout 10 months later. Hundreds of thousands of people, the majority of them soldiers, are believed to have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
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Subsequently, the Biden administration secured the release of three more Americans last year as part of the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The Americans freed were Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, US Marine veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Wise’s currency converter will show you how much your money is worth in other currencies at the real exchange rate. Banks often advertise free or low-cost transfers, but add a hidden markup to the exchange rate.
Stories of the hostages taken by Hamas from Israel
She replied to the original email with the word “Resign” and hit send. “In the abstract, it did sound like a good offer,” she says. “My husband and I talked about it, and if this offer was legitimate, it seemed like, wow… I could potentially be making double salary for six months, which would give him some time to regroup and find a job he cares about.” Like many federal employees, she was also a bit skeptical of the deal. That historic deal won the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan, among others. Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the exchange was “a product of one of the channels, through which these contacts are carried out”.
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“Any agreement on the release of citizens… [is] preceded by very, very scrupulous negotiating work. Of course, such agreements are unlikely to become a turning point,” he said. Mr Fogel left Russia with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in a move officials said could help bring about talks to end the Ukraine war. A total of 70 hostages taken during 7 October attacks are still believed to be in Gaza.
Who are Israeli hostages released and rescued from Gaza?
Trump issued a statement on Saturday warning of the noon deadline he set for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza and said he will leave it up to Israel to decide whether they will violate the ceasefire and continue fighting. During the first six-week phase of the ceasefire, a total of 33 hostages should be freed in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel. So far, 18 hostages have been freed in exchange for over 550 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first phase of the deal. Speaking to Sky’s Barbara Serra, Nivi Feldman, said 14 Israeli hostages are still due to be released as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
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Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34, were all taken hostage during Hamas’ brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and sparked the war in Gaza. More than 47,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, according to the local Hamas-run ministry of health. After intense efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to keep the agreement on track, Hamas said it would go ahead with the planned release of hostages. The deal nearly fell apart at the beginning of the week after the militant group threatened to delay the release of hostages, accusing Israel of violating terms of the truce.
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Hamas releases three more Israelis, as 369 Palestinians are handed over in the sixth exchange in recent weeks. There are 73 hostages taken on 7 October who are still being held in Gaza. There are also three other Israeli hostages – one of whom is dead – who have been held in Gaza for a decade or more. More than 48,230 people have been killed by the Israel offensive in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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Shortly after the hostage handover in Gaza, a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank, as per the ceasefire agreement, Reuters reported. As we reported earlier, it was believed Netanyahu had spoken with ministers, the heads of the negotiating team and senior defence officials, over the phone to discuss the release of remaining hostages. In exchange for Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages, Israel began freeing another 369 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, most of whom were arrested in the Gaza Strip after the terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The truce now enters a critical second phase, which calls for all remaining hostages to be returned and an indefinite extension of the ceasefire. The exchange, which saw 369 Palestinian prisoners released in return, went ahead after a tense stand-off that had threatened to shatter the fragile ceasefire.
- But in the days that followed, OPM issued an FAQ clarifying that employees who resigned wouldn’t be expected to work during the “deferred resignation period” and would be allowed to get a second job.
- Israel however never imposed such a deadline, which is also not part of the ceasefire deal.
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- Despite the UK being the first to tout the date for transition, the EU and Switzerland both confirmed the date in recent months, with the UK – as expected – now mirroring the day which the shortened settlement cycle will come into force.
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- Despite the UK being the first to tout the date for transition, the EU and Switzerland both confirmed the date in recent months, with the UK – as expected – now mirroring the day which the shortened settlement cycle will come into force.
- For its part, Hamas has accused Israel of preventing what the group says are the amount of tents and aid lorries required to be let into Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire.
- Andrea Hsu is available through encrypted communications on Signal at andreahsu.08.
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- But in the days that followed, OPM issued an FAQ clarifying that employees who resigned wouldn’t be expected to work during the “deferred resignation period” and would be allowed to get a second job.
- She said the family had known his release was a possibility but also that the negotiations were “very tenuous”.
- Israel however never imposed such a deadline, which is also not part of the ceasefire deal.
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- The deal had appeared close to collapse earlier this week when Hamas refused to release more hostages, claiming Israel had blocked vital aid deliveries, including tents and shelter materials, leaving thousands exposed to winter conditions.
- Speaking to Global Custodian last year, Andrew Douglas, chairman of the UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce, highlighted how around 5% of trades are already settling on a T+1 basis on Euroclear’s CREST.
- “President Trump secured Marc’s release in just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring Marc home,” a statement from his lawyers, also sent to CBS, said.
- Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.
- These days, she works with veterans of all ages, including Vietnam War vets as well as those who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that while such agreements build trust between countries, they were unlikely to be a “turning point” in a relationship.
- The stunt came as the militant group released three Israeli hostages – Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Sasha Troufanov – after 498 days in captivity.
The claim comes after the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said four released prisoners were taken to the hospital for urgent care. Former US president Joe Biden has said he and his wife, Jill, are “relieved” American-Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel Chen has been reunited with his family. LONDON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his political-security cabinet “as soon as possible” to decide “Israel’s next steps” shortly after President Donald Trump’s noon deadline for Hamas to release all remaining hostages passed. Even as a federal judge has cleared the way for the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program to go forward, there remains much confusion over who agreed to exactly what — and what they’ll get in return.
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President Trump said the ceasefire should be scrapped if Hamas did not release all the hostages held in Gaza by midday on Saturday. Trump said earlier that the prisoner deal with Russia was “very fair, very reasonable”, and that “somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of”. They add hidden markups to their exchange rates – charging you more without your knowledge. Whether you need to make cross-border payments or FX risk management solutions, we’ve got you covered. Schedule international transfers across 130 currencies in 190+ countries.
Gaza latest: Netanyahu to convene security cabinet – as families of remaining Israeli hostages plea to Trump for help
A bus carrying some of the released Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where they were greeted by a cheering crowd. Some were seen being whisked away by ambulances to a local hospital. President Trump had set a deadline for Hamas to release all hostages. But in the days that followed, OPM issued an FAQ clarifying that employees who resigned wouldn’t be expected to work during the “deferred resignation period” and would be allowed to get a second job. Goggin is among roughly 75,000 federal employees who agreed to resign, according to OPM.
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Office of Personnel Management (OPM) went to nearly all federal employees — some 2.3 million people across the U.S. Israel has been especially infuriated by the staged way hostages have been released – publicly displayed on platforms alongside gunmen and in front of crowds of spectators, before being handed over to the Red Cross in chaotic scenes. Vinnik, who operated cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in 2024. “Actually, I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed.” Or Levy was attending the Nova music festival with his wife, Einav, when militants attacked. He was filmed hugging and walking arm in arm with his grandmother after being reunited at the Sheba Medical Centre earlier today.
Watch: Crowds gather to welcome freed Palestinian prisoners
Three more Israeli hostages were released Saturday in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners as the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continued to hold. It was the fifth hostage and prisoner exchange to occur as part of the first phase of the deal, which began on Jan. 19. “We have prepared for their return and, together with the families, we will assist in their rehabilitation after the long and torturous days in captivity,” read a statement from the Buy usdt New York Israeli prime minister’s office. Our exchange rate API offers real-time, accurate, and reliable data for hundreds of currencies. Xe’s proprietary rates are sourced directly from financial data providers and reputable banks. Responding to Trump’s message earlier today – which said the US would “back” Israel in “any decision they make” regarding the release of all the remaining hostages – the Israeli prime minister said he values the president’s “full support”.
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The following week, in an effort to be transparent, Goggin emailed her supervisor about her decision. Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. This isn’t the first time Mr Trump has dismissed a reporter over their accent.
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Rana, accused of aiding the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that killed 166 people, is currently held in a high-security US prison. During the press meet with the Indian prime minister, the reporter asked the US president about his decision to extradite Pakistani national and accused terrorist Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India and the rising anti-India voices in the US. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that a Russian citizen imprisoned in the US would be returned to Russia in the coming days as part of the exchange.