Teen Hostage Released After 50 Days... Mother Deceased, Father Missing

Israeli Siblings Released in Second Bail
Receive Sad News After 50 Days

As the Palestinian armed group Hamas and Israel engage in a temporary ceasefire and continue exchanging hostages and prisoners, heartbreaking stories of the released hostages have emerged. A teenage brother and sister who were kidnapped by Hamas reunited with their longed-for family after 50 days, only to learn for the first time that their mother had been killed and their father was missing.

On the 26th (local time), the British Guardian reported that the siblings Noam (16) and Alma (13), who returned to Israel the previous day, heard this shocking news right after meeting their grandfather and grandmother and undergoing health checkups at a hospital.

Alma (13) Released 50 Days After Hamas Abduction [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

The siblings' uncle, Ahal Besorai, told the Guardian, "The children did not know that their mother had been killed," adding, "They met their loved ones after 50 days, but the first news they received was that their mother was no longer alive." He said, "Their shock and pain were immense, and it seems they shed many tears."

Noam and Alma were separated from their parents when Hamas attacked the Be'eri Kibbutz (collective farm) in southern Israel on the 7th of last month. At that time, they were hiding inside their home with their parents. When Hamas set fire to the house to force those inside out, the siblings jumped out of a window but were discovered by Hamas and kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.

Their mother, Yonat (50), was shot by a Hamas militant while trying to hide, and their father, Dror (50), is presumed to have been kidnapped.

Besorai said, "The siblings were confined in a single room in the Gaza Strip along with another woman," adding, "It was not easy for the children. Even sitting in the room and eating was not a simple matter." He explained that the children encouraged each other and the woman they were with during captivity to survive.

He also said, "In the eyes of the children, who did not know when they would be released, Hamas taped them up, put them in a car, and handed them over to the Red Cross."

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas agreed on the 24th to a four-day ceasefire and the release of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners.

Accordingly, on the first day of the ceasefire, the 24th, Hamas released 13 Israeli hostages and 11 foreigners, and on the 25th, they released 13 Israelis and 4 foreigners. Israel also released 39 Palestinians imprisoned in its jails on the first day and another 39 on the second day.

On the third day of the ceasefire, the 26th, Israel and Hamas continued the third exchange of hostages and prisoners. Hamas released an additional 17 hostages, including Israelis and foreigners, and Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. So far, 58 Hamas hostages and 117 Palestinian prisoners have been freed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.