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Two more Gaza hostages freed

Messenger Desk

Published: 07:44, 24 October 2023

Two more Gaza hostages freed

Photo : Reuters

Gaza's Hamas rulers on Monday (24 October) freed two more women abducted from Israel during the October 7 attacks, with their elderly husbands still being held among more than 200 hostages.

The Palestinian Islamist group's military wing said the two elderly women, identified as Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, had been freed for "compelling humanitarian" reasons following mediation by Qatar and Egypt.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the two women's identities, saying they were Israeli citizens aged 85 and 79, respectively, and residents of the Nir Oz kibbutz.

It said their husbands, both in their 80s, were still in captivity, among more than 200 hostages still held by Hamas. Four women have now been freed in three days. The pair were taken to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, according to Israeli media.

After being flown in by Israeli helicopter, the two released hostages arrived at a Tel Aviv medical centre, where the Israeli government said their families were waiting for them.

One was carried in on a stretcher and the other in a wheelchair, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

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