What we know
- Twenty-four hostages were released from the Gaza Strip today as a pause in fighting that began this morning continues to hold. Thirteen Israelis were freed as part of the deal with Hamas, which also saw 39 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails and aid flow into Gaza. A number of Thai captives were separately released by Hamas.
- The breakthrough follows weeks of "excruciating" negotiations brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt for a deal featuring a four-day truce, with at least 50 hostages expected to be freed from Gaza and 150 Palestinians from Israel. A last-minute delay saw Israel bombard sites across the Gaza Strip yesterday.
- The Israeli military has urged civilians who fled to southern Gaza not to return home during the pause, warning "the war is not over yet" in leaflets dropped this morning. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said battles would continue "forcefully" after the truce, and that he expects at least two more months of fighting.
- Fuel trucks and convoys carrying humanitarian aid have entered the besieged Palestinian enclave this morning amid the truce, offering the hope of some relief for civilians who have been suffering for weeks as supplies of food, water and medicine ran low.
- More than 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza, where health officials say the death toll has surpassed 14,500 after weeks of Israeli attacks. The Israel Defense Forces estimate 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, with more than 200 people held hostage in Gaza.
- NBC News’ Keir Simmons, Raf Sanchez, Ali Arouzi, Erin McLaughlin and David Noriega are reporting from the region.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today it has received a list of hostages to be released tomorrow and has been in touch with their loved ones.
Security officials in Israel were checking the list, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.
The office asked the news media to exercise caution, ostensibly in deciding whether to identify any of those slated to be freed. The office did not release any identities for this second wave of hostages expected to be freed.
Husband and father of released hostages says he 'will not celebrate until the last of the abductees returns'
Yoni Katz Asher, whose wife Doron and daughters Raz, 4, and Aviv, 2, were released by Hamas on Friday, said he is grateful that his family has returned home, but is holding off on celebrations until all the hostages have returned.
“I am happy that I got my family back. [I am] allowed to be happy and... shed a tear. It’s a human thing. But I don’t celebrate,” Asher said. "I won’t celebrate until the last of the kidnapped returns."
Asher said he is determined to “resurrect” his family from the trauma they went through. He thanked the families of hostages, the IDF, and the Israeli government for helping to bring his family home.
Cousin of hostage, freed with her two children, celebrates her return
Freed Israeli hostage Doron Katz Asher, 34, and her two daughters Aviv, 2, and Raz, 4, are in an Israeli hospital waiting for the medical team to finish their assessments so they can return home.
"It has been a very emotional time for all of them so we can’t wait for them to be back," said Chen Dori-Roberts, Doron's cousin. "I think they are in good hands right now."
Doron was visiting her mother in Kibbutz Nir Oz when she and her children were abducted by Hamas. She called her husband, Yoni Asher, to tell him terrorists had entered the home she was hiding in.
Chen-Dori Roberts and Yoni Asher later found videos on social media of their family crammed on the back of a vehicle being transported to Gaza. Doron's mother was killed by Hamas at the Gaza border.
IDF and Mossad have received a list of hostages that will be released tomorrow
The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad have received a list of the hostages to be released tomorrow, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.
Security officials are checking the list. The Prime Minister's Office said new information will be provided as it is verified.
"On behalf of the person in charge of the abductees and the missing, Lt. Col. Gal Hirsch — the information has been given to the families of the abductees, we ask the media to act with the required caution," said the statement.
Ohad Munder, child, and other Israeli hostages released by Hamas
Doctor: Hostages had lack of sunlight, poor nutrition in captivity
Recently freed hostages may face a variety of health risks, from nutritional deficiency to lack of exercise, after spending 47 days in captivity in Gaza, according to professor Hagai Levine, head of the medical team for Israel’s Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
“We know, for example, for diets, that they did not get a proper diet,” Levine told journalists at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, where five of the recently released elderly hostages will receive evaluations and treatment.
“No exposure to sunlight, which again, for seven weeks, it’s, you know, there is a lack of vitamin D and, of course, mentally, how it affects you.”
One of his biggest concerns is that hostages did not receive their prescribed medications. Levine acknowledged reports that some hostages did get medical treatment while in captivity, saying the level of care was something doctors will “have to evaluate now.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross facilitates release of 33 Palestinian prisoners
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it facilitated the release of 33 Palestinian detainees today.
The prisoners exited an Israeli prison and were transferred to Ramallah, in the West Bank.
"We have managed to do so thanks to our neutral intermediary role," the ICRC said in a post on X.
In all, 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails on the first day of the Israel-Hamas truce.
Demonstrations held at malls across the country on Black Friday
Demonstrators gathered outside malls in major cities across the country today, including several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters who marched through New York City's Herald Square while chanting, "While you shop, bombs drop" and "Occupation, not a war."
In Atlanta, protesters stood outside Lenox Square and some entered the roadway, according to police. Eight people were arrested for refusing officers' commands to disperse from the street, police said.
Other demonstrations were held at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, Massachusetts; the Crossgates Mall in Albany, New York; Tysons Corner Center in Tysons, Virginia; Asheville Mall in Asheville, North Carolina; Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, California; and Tampa Premium Outlets in Florida.
IDF spokesperson says release of hostages brings a 'great sense of relief'
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari celebrated the release of hostages, saying it brings a "great sense of relief."
The released hostages underwent an initial medical evaluation and have arrived at Hatzerim Base, where they will contact their family members and complete further medical examinations. They will then be transported via military helicopters to designated hospitals, where they will have the chance to meet their families, Hagari said.
If a released prisoner is not Israeli, a representative from their country will meet them at the Hatzerim base, he explained.
Hagari said the release will most likely bring a mix of sadness and joy for many of the freed prisoners.
"We must not forget tonight that each and every one of those returning home this evening still has a family member or relative who was murdered or is in captivity in Gaza," he said. "The sight of the returnees crossing the border into the territory of the state of Israel is a great sense of relief. However, our hearts are with those still held in Gaza. ... We are only at the beginning of the process."
Preparations are still being made for the release of other prisoners.
"Again, nothing is final until it is finished. We do not forget for a moment that Hamas is a cruel and merciless enemy," Hagari said.