In an unconfirmed report on Thursday, the Saudi Al Arabiya outlet said that Hamas had already begun gathering the hostages in safe locations in the Gaza Strip ahead of their release, though this hasn’t yet been confirmed . The releases are not expected to include the elaborate propaganda displays that Hamas staged during previous hostage releases. On Thursday, the Israeli Health Ministry announced that it was prepared to receive the 20 surviving hostages, noting that its readiness was based on “lessons learned from previous releases and rescue operations,” the ministry stated. Health Ministry Dir.-Gen. Moshe Bar Siman Tov said, “This is a very emotional and joyful morning for all of us. We feel that we are reaching a peak, even the most moving moment, and with great hope for an ending to these two years, to a war that has challenged and stretched the capacities of the system to the limit.” A major concern, based on previous rounds of releases, is the hostages’ anticipated severe malnutrition and the risk of developing refeeding syndrome. The Health Ministry reiterated that it contacted the Red Cross several weeks ago, requesting that Hamas be instructed not to overfeed the hostages before their return. In previous hostage release incidents, Hamas attempted to conceal the emaciated condition of the hostages by quickly providing them with more food, as well as feeding them stimulating substances, which further endangered their health. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly controversial recent decision to order a missile strike against Hamas terror leaders in the wealthy Gulf state of Qatar turned out to be a great success. That’s the assessment of Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States. In a phone interview with me for ALL ISRAEL NEWS on Thursday, Leiter said the attack may not have eliminated the specific Hamas terrorists that Israel was hoping to take out. But it did impose tremendous pressure on the Hamas leadership. It made it crystal clear that there is nowhere Hamas officials and operatives could be safe from the long arm of the Israeli military or the legendary Mossad spy service. Unless Hamas moved quickly to release all of the hostages and agreed to a deal to end the war immediately, every Hamas terrorist would soon be dead. Trump told Qatari and Turkish leaders to “either turn the screws on Hamas leaders and make sure that they follow through on what we want to get accomplished – a faster release of the hostages – or else you're going to have to throw them out of your countries.” Hamas agreed to release hostages after Trump administration representatives convinced the terror group that the captives would be a liability rather than an asset, a senior U.S. official told Walla. According to a U.S. official, the breakthrough came in Egypt when Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff joined the negotiations. “Kushner and Witkoff arrived after realizing the technical teams had done all they could,” he said. “Within twenty hours, they sewed the deal together.” By early Thursday morning, Hamas had accepted that the hostages were a burden rather than leverage, allowing negotiators to divide the process into two phases—release of captives first, postwar arrangements second. Talks accelerated following meetings in New York and Sharm el-Sheikh, as the Trump team joined Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to mediate an end to the crisis and prepare for Gaza’s postwar stabilization. The official said the agreement emerged from two weeks of intensive diplomacy culminating in a plan for an international stabilization force. https://worldisraelnews.com/who-convinced-hamas-to-give-up-the-hostages/ TEL AVIV—All 20 living hostages were delivered safely home to Israel on Monday morning, freed from the clutches of Hamas terrorists who have been holding them since the October 7, 2023 attack.As Israel celebrated the return, U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to address the Knesset. Later Monday Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Egypt together to join the Gaza peace summit which will be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. In exchange, Israel will free approximately 2,000 Palestinian terrorist prisoners, including 250 serving long sentences and 1,700 detained during the conflict.
IDF, Israeli hospitals prepare to receive Israeli hostages returning from 2 years of torture & starvation:
Israeli strike in Qatar helped force Hamas to say ‘yes’ to Trump deal, convinced terror leaders there were no more places to hide, Israeli ambassador tells ALL ISRAEL NEWS:
Who convinced Hamas to give up the hostages? – the inside story:
**Live Wire Updates**: Hamas Releases All Israeli Hostages From Gaza:
Exclusive: From Hamas Tunnels to Freedom — Former Hostage Recounts Brutal Treatment of 2 Men Freed in Trump-Brokered Deal: