The United Nations Security Council on Monday demanded a cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, its first demand to halt fighting. The United States abstained on the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. But the measure does not link that demand to the cease-fire during Ramadan, which ends April 9.
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United States warned that the resolution approved on Monday could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.
A statement issued Friday night by the Arab Group appealed to all 15 council members “to act with unity and urgency” and vote for the resolution “to halt the bloodshed, preserve human lives and avert further human suffering and destruction.”
“It is long past time for a cease-fire,” the Arab Group said.
Because Ramadan ends next month, the cease-fire demand would last for just two weeks, though the draft says the pause in fighting should lead “to a permanent sustainable cease-fire.”
Since the start of the war, the Security Council has adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none has called for a cease-fire.
More than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during the fighting, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Gaza also faces a dire humanitarian emergency, with a report from an international authority on hunger warning March 18 that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza and that escalation of the war could push half of the territory’s 2.3 million people to the brink of starvation.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council Friday that the resolution’s text “fails to support sensitive diplomacy in the region. Worse, it could actually give Hamas an excuse to walk away from the deal on the table.”
“We should not move forward with any resolution that jeopardizes the ongoing negotiations,” she said, warning that if the diplomacy isn’t supported, “we may once again find this council deadlocked.”
“I truly hope that that does not come about,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
The United States has vetoed three resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, the most recent an Arab-backed measure on Feb. 20. That resolution was supported by 13 council members with one abstention, reflecting the overwhelming support for a cease-fire.
Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in late October calling for pauses in the fighting to deliver aid, the protection of civilians and a halt to arming Hamas. They said it did not reflect global calls for a cease-fire.
They again vetoed the U.S. resolution Friday, calling it ambiguous and saying it was not the direct demand to end the fighting that much of the world seeks.
The vote became another showdown involving world powers that are locked in tense disputes elsewhere, with the United States taking criticism for not being tough enough against its ally Israel, even as tensions between the two countries rise.
A key issue was the unusual language in the U.S. draft. It said the Security Council “determines the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire.” The phrasing was not a straightforward “demand” or “call” to halt hostilities.
Before the vote, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supports an immediate cease-fire, but he criticized the diluted language, which he called philosophical wording that does not belong in a U.N. resolution.
He accused U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of “deliberately misleading the international community” about calling for a cease-fire.
“This was some kind of an empty rhetorical exercise,” Nebenzia said. “The American product is exceedingly politicized, the sole purpose of which is to help to play to the voters, to throw them a bone in the form of some kind of a mention of a cease-fire in Gaza … and to ensure the impunity of Israel, whose crimes in the draft are not even assessed.”
China’s U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, said the U.S. proposal set preconditions and fell far short of expectations of council members and the broader international community.
“If the U.S. was serious about a cease-fire, it wouldn’t have vetoed time and again multiple council resolutions,” he said. “It wouldn’t have taken such a detour and played a game of words while being ambiguous and evasive on critical issues.”
Friday’s vote in the 15-member council was 11 members in favor and three against, including Algeria, the Arab representative on the council. There was one abstention, from Guyana.
After the vote, Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia and China of vetoing the resolution for “deeply cynical reasons,” saying they could not bring themselves to condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, which the resolution would have done for the first time.
A second “petty” reason, she said, is that “Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States, because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed.” She accused Russia of again putting “politics over progress” and having “the audacity and hypocrisy to throw stones” after launching an unwarranted invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The resolution did reflect a shift by the United States, which has found itself at odds with much of the world as even allies of Israel push for an unconditional end to fighting.
In previous resolutions, the U.S. has closely intertwined calls for a cease-fire with demands for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. This resolution, using wording that’s open to interpretation, continued to link the two issues, but not as firmly.
Just before Mayor Darrell Steinberg was set to introduce a Gaza cease-fire resolution in Sacramento City Council, he held a press conference along with supporters and those who helped draft the resolution.”Making peace is not easy, but that’s what we strive to do in some small way in our beloved Sacramento,” the mayor said to start the press conference at Old City Hall. “We must try harder to talk to each other, try harder to heal each other, try harder to reach across the uncomfortable divide, try harder to take risks for peace, especially in our own community,” Steinberg said.The mayor acknowledged that the resolution won’t solve the war in the Middle East, but said it was specifically about Sacramento.The mayor also responded to criticism saying the conflict in Gaza is not a Sacramento council issue. “It’s before the city council every week,” the mayor said.The executive director of the Sacramento Valley Council on American-Islamic Relations, Basim El-Karra, stood with the mayor. El-Karra said the situation on the ground doesn’t just impact those in Gaza, but impacts people in Sacramento too. “This is not just a political gesture,” El-Karra said. “It’s the first step to ending the horrific violence.””We all want humanity to prevail over hatred,” said Tawfiq Morrar, an attorney and former CAIR board member.Former city councilmember and leader in the Jewish community, Jay Schenirer, also stood with the mayor in support. However, Schenirer, who is the president of Congregation B’Nai Israel, did emphasize he was representing himself in his own capacity.Highlighting growing antisemitism and islamophobia, Schenirer said the Muslim and Jewish communities were stronger together. The group acknowledged that both sides made concessions in order to draft the resolution. “That is the nature of principled compromise,” Steinberg said.Ahead of the meeting to introduce the resolution, there was already public dissent.The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region does not support the resolution. Neither does Councilmember Lisa Kaplan. “We all want to accomplish the goal of bringing the parties together,” Kaplan told KCRA 3. “But this resolution coming before council is not accomplishing that goal.A member of the public was also in the room where the press conference was held and interrupted the mayor several times throughout. “Are you going to consider some of the amendments?” he asked the mayor. “We need to talk about the genocide,” he continued. The mayor was also joined by community advocate Makeez Sawez, Rabbi Seth Castleman and members of the Jewish community Brian Landsberg and Judy Heiman.Among those at Steinberg’s side on Tuesday was his wife Julie, the cantor at B’Nai Israel.Other religious leaders of the city’s largest Jewish synagogues were not in attendance.“I respect that everybody has to come to their own decision of conscience,” Steinberg said, acknowledging that even some on the Jewish left were not supporters of the resolution.He said he thought that supporters represented the community’s position in Sacramento.Steinberg said that he did not know how the vote would shake out on Tuesday evening but hoped that respectful discussions would prevail. He said he was prepared for proceedings to last into the early-morning hours and that everyone’s voice would be heard. “If we have to stay until 2 or 3 in the morning, we will because it’s important,” Steinberg said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Just before Mayor Darrell Steinberg was set to introduce a Gaza cease-fire resolution in Sacramento City Council, he held a press conference along with supporters and those who helped draft the resolution.
“Making peace is not easy, but that’s what we strive to do in some small way in our beloved Sacramento,” the mayor said to start the press conference at Old City Hall.
“We must try harder to talk to each other, try harder to heal each other, try harder to reach across the uncomfortable divide, try harder to take risks for peace, especially in our own community,” Steinberg said.
The mayor acknowledged that the resolution won’t solve the war in the Middle East, but said it was specifically about Sacramento.
The mayor also responded to criticism saying the conflict in Gaza is not a Sacramento council issue. “It’s before the city council every week,” the mayor said.
The executive director of the Sacramento Valley Council on American-Islamic Relations, Basim El-Karra, stood with the mayor.
El-Karra said the situation on the ground doesn’t just impact those in Gaza, but impacts people in Sacramento too.
“This is not just a political gesture,” El-Karra said. “It’s the first step to ending the horrific violence.”
“We all want humanity to prevail over hatred,” said Tawfiq Morrar, an attorney and former CAIR board member.
Former city councilmember and leader in the Jewish community, Jay Schenirer, also stood with the mayor in support. However, Schenirer, who is the president of Congregation B’Nai Israel, did emphasize he was representing himself in his own capacity.
Highlighting growing antisemitism and islamophobia, Schenirer said the Muslim and Jewish communities were stronger together.
The group acknowledged that both sides made concessions in order to draft the resolution. “That is the nature of principled compromise,” Steinberg said.
Ahead of the meeting to introduce the resolution, there was already public dissent.
The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region does not support the resolution. Neither does Councilmember Lisa Kaplan. “We all want to accomplish the goal of bringing the parties together,” Kaplan told KCRA 3. “But this resolution coming before council is not accomplishing that goal.
A member of the public was also in the room where the press conference was held and interrupted the mayor several times throughout. “Are you going to consider some of the amendments?” he asked the mayor. “We need to talk about the genocide,” he continued.
The mayor was also joined by community advocate Makeez Sawez, Rabbi Seth Castleman and members of the Jewish community Brian Landsberg and Judy Heiman.
Among those at Steinberg’s side on Tuesday was his wife Julie, the cantor at B’Nai Israel.
Other religious leaders of the city’s largest Jewish synagogues were not in attendance.
“I respect that everybody has to come to their own decision of conscience,” Steinberg said, acknowledging that even some on the Jewish left were not supporters of the resolution.
He said he thought that supporters represented the community’s position in Sacramento.
Steinberg said that he did not know how the vote would shake out on Tuesday evening but hoped that respectful discussions would prevail. He said he was prepared for proceedings to last into the early-morning hours and that everyone’s voice would be heard. “If we have to stay until 2 or 3 in the morning, we will because it’s important,” Steinberg said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains steadfast in his mission to defeat Hamas, despite ongoing cease-fire negotiations. In Tel Aviv, protests against Netanyahu’s war strategy were met with police water cannons. Meanwhile, residents of Rafah in Gaza prepare for the potential of an Israeli ground assault.
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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a long history of seeing Russia everywhere when it comes to things she doesn’t like.
Now she says that protesters demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza might be “connected to Russia” and are spreading “Putin’s message.”
To solve the issue, she says she’s going to ask the FBI to investigate. You can’t make this stuff up.
Asked about protests calling for ceasefire in Gaza, @SpeakerPelosi tells @DanaBashCNN: calling for ceasefire is “Putin’s message”. Some may be organic, “some are connected to Russia… financing should be investigated. I want to ask the FBI to investigate that”.
Democrats just can’t let this Russia stuff go. No matter where they look, they see Putin and sound more deranged than the parody characters in Dr. Strangelove.
NBC News reports, “Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Sunday said she hopes to ask the FBI to investigate protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war and suggested that some of the antiwar demonstrations are linked to Russia.”
Pelosi said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that she believes that some of the protesters are “connected” to Russia and its president Vladimir Putin.
Seriously, is there anyone out there who isn’t collecting rubles from Putin? Where’s my free money?
On CNN, Nancy Pelosi says that some protestors calling for a Gaza ceasefire and ending arms transfers to Ukraine are telling “Mister Putin’s message.”
“For them to call for a cease-fire is Mr. Putin’s message, Mr. Putin’s message. Make no mistake. This is directly connected to what he would like to see. Same thing with Ukraine. It’s about Putin’s message,” Pelosi said.
“I think some of these — some of these protesters are spontaneous and organic and sincere. Some, I think, are connected to Russia, and I say that having looked at this for a long time now,” she continued.
Pressed on whether she thinks some of the protesters are Russian plants, Pelosi said she would like to have the FBI look into the matter.
“I didn’t say they’re plants. I think some financing should be investigated,” she said. “And I want to ask the FBI to investigate that.”
More than two thirds of Americans support a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza in a November Reuters poll, a number that has continued to increase according to the data.
That was two months ago. Does Pelosi legitimately think these people are just hooked up with Putin? Or maybe…
Maybe they don’t like seeing so many people dying. Israel had every right to retaliate for the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7th, but with thousands of Palestinians now dead and a large degree of them women and children, at some point is it rational to call for an end to the killing?
Donald Trump, who in contrast to Joe Biden was responsible for several peace treaties between Israel and historically hostile Arab neighbors, has certainly said this.
But we already know Pelosi thinks he’s in bed with Russia.
Nancy Pelosi is already an absurd politician in many ways.
And here’s a brand new one.
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As the Israel-Hamas war reaches its 100th day, supporters of Palestinians in Gaza have launched global protests calling for an immediate cease-fire. Meanwhile, White House officials have declared that it’s the appropriate time for Israel to de-escalate its attacks on Hamas, signaling a potential shift in the war’s dynamics. Charlie D’Agata reports.
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As Israel widens its ground offensive in Gaza, it is ordering more evacuations inside the territory. On Friday, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution calling for more humanitarian aid in Gaza, but the chief of the international agency said Israel’s actions are creating major obstacles to aid distribution. CBS News’ Imtiaz Tyab is in Jerusalem with the latest.
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Thousands of pro-Palestine protestors have gathered at Aotea Square in Auckland’s city centre this afternoon calling for a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war.
Dozens of Palestinian flags were seen among the congregation that included Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and MP Ricardo Menéndez March.
The rally began walking down Queen Street to the US Consulate General on Customs Street shortly before 3pm today.
A large police presence is also monitoring and chaperoning the march down Queen Street which has completly closed the street.
Hundreds of protesters take their march down Auckland’s Queen Street. Photo / Alex Burton
The crowd also chanted: “Casefire. When do we want it? Now.”
A stage has been set up near the Queen Street side of Aotea Square with a “Free Palestine” banner with both the Palestine flag and the Tino Rangatiratanga flag, also known as the national Māori flag.
In a historic move, the United Auto Workers became the largest labor union to advocate for a permanent cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The announcement was made Friday by UAW Region 9A Director Brandon Mancilla, alongside protesters on the fifth day of a hunger strike held outside the White House. The protest had drawn appearances from notable figures such as actress Cynthia Nixon and Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush.
“UAW International is calling for an immediate, permanent cease-fire in Israel and Palestine so that we can get to the work of building a lasting peace, building social justice, and building a global community of solidarity,” Mancilla said.
The call for a cease-fire and the desire to build a global community of solidarity “is as important as anything else that we’re doing in this country in order to ensure that workers and oppressed people and poor people across the world are on the path to winning the justice that they so deserve,” Mancilla said.
Mancilla added in a message shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the International Executive Board of UAW would be forming a working group to study the history of the region and their union’s economic ties to the conflict.
“I am proud that the UAW International Union is calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the CONTRA war, the @UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe,” UAW president Shawn Fain posted on X, echoing Mancilla’s sentiment.
I am proud that the UAW International Union is calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. From opposing fascism in WWII to mobilizing against apartheid South Africa and the CONTRA war, the @UAW has consistently stood for justice across the globe..
Other labor organizations have supported a cease-fire as well, including the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU).
“We unreservedly condemn the Hamas violence of October 7, which killed over 1,000 Israeli civilians and saw the kidnapping of more than 200 people. However, Israel’s response has made the prospects for peace more remote. Over 10,000 innocent civilians, including 4,000 children, have been killed by the relentless and indiscriminate bombing campaign on Gaza. Israel has shut off the flow of food, water, fuel and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip, a war crime. A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding every day in Gaza. Thousands more innocent civilians stand to die wholly preventable deaths,” the APWU stated in their press release, citing numbers provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The UAW ended a six-week strike on Oct. 30 following tentative labor agreements with the Detroit Big 3 car manufacturers. President Biden joined the picket line with UAW workers in September, in an unprecedented show of solidarity from a sitting president.
A member of an Israeli military unit of female soldiers that does surveillance on the Gaza side of the border with Israel told CBS News that, beginning six months before the Oct. 7 attack, her team noticed and repeatedly reported unusual activity up the chain of command. She said that those reports weren’t taken seriously. Lilia Luciano has more.
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The Biden administration is hopeful that American citizens being held by Hamas will be released, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe has more.
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The Biden administration is hoping to continue extending the temporary pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel to allow for more hostages to be released. Ed O’Keefe reports.
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The temporary Israel-Hamas truce will be extended for another two days, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The announcement comes on the final day of a four-day truce between the warring sides. The Israeli military said Monday evening that 11 hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza and were on their way to Israeli territory, marking the start of the fourth swap under the original truce.
The release came hours after Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend their truce.
Israel has said it would extend the ceasefire by one day for every ten additional hostages released. After the announcement by Qatar — a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt — Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension “under the same terms.”
Results Of The Israel-Hamas Truce So Far & What’s Next
Of the roughly 240 hostages captured by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that ignited the war, 62 have been released. Israeli forces freed one, and two were found dead inside Gaza.
Israel is set to release 33 Palestinian prisoners later Monday.
With the truce deal has come increased shipments of fuel and supplies into Gaza — although aid groups say it’s still barely enough to dent the needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli siege and bombardment.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will press ahead with the war after the ceasefire expires. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mainly during the initial incursion by Hamas. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel’s ground offensive.
Israel Claims Aid Has Entered Gaza Amid Truce
Additionally, Israeli officials reportedly said around 200 container trucks brought humanitarian aid into Gaza on Monday after being inspected by Israel. Some resources included “a small amount of fuel,” per the Israeli military body that handles civilian affairs.
“Four containers carrying diesel fuel and four containers carrying cooking gas were transferred from Egypt to U.N. humanitarian aid organizations in the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing,” COGAT said in a statement.
The aid trucks brought “food, water, shelter equipment, and medical supplies,” the statement said.
Associated Press’ live updates here contributed to this report in addition to TSR Staff.
A second group of 17 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza since being kidnapped by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel were released late Saturday night after an hours-long delay as part of the short-term cease-fire agreement brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt.
There were 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. There were seven Israeli children ranging in age from 3 to 16, and six Israeli women ranging in age from 18 to 67 released, the office announced.
Among those freed was 9-year-old Emily Hand, an Israeli-Irish girl who was initially believed to have been killed by Hamas.
“Emily has come back to us! We can’t find the words to describe our emotions after 50 challenging and complicated days,” her family said in a statement to CBS News.
Their release came after an hours-long delay Saturday when Hamas accused Israel of not complying with the cease-fire’s terms.
One U.S. source told CBS News that the delay was over the pace of aid coming into Gaza. “This is putting the deal in danger and we have spoken to mediators about that,” Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official said in Beirut, the Associated Press reported.
However, Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said in a statement that “obstacles were overcome” with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and Hamas finally agreed to release the hostages.
Israeli Defense Forces confirmed the hostages had been freed in a statement Saturday night, saying that “after undergoing an initial medical assessment” the hostages “will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families.”
In exchange, another 39 Palestinians — 33 children and six women — who were being jailed in Israel will also be released Saturday, Al-Ansari disclosed.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told CBS News that President Biden spoke with Qatari leaders by phone several times Saturday in an effort to resolve the holdups.
A White House official described the president, who is spending Thanksgiving weekend with his family in Nantucket, Massachusetts, as playing a “central role” in the Gaza negotiations.
All this followed the release of an initial group of 24 Hamas-held hostages on Friday — the first day of the cease-fire — consisting of 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino citizen. The released Israelis ranged in age from 2 to 85 and included several mothers and four children, the Israeli government said. Four hostages, two Americans and two Israelis, were released by Hamas last month.
Israeli intelligence has been receiving a list of the names of the hostages who are expected to be released in each group prior to their handover. The families of those hostages released in Saturday’s second group were given early notification on Friday night, Netanyahu’s office said.
The cease-fire, which took effect Friday morning after frantic diplomatic efforts, calls for a pause in the fighting and the release of some 50 Hamas-held hostages, all women and children, over the course of four days. In exchange, 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israel would also be released.
Prior to Friday’s swap, Israel estimated that there were about 240 hostages still being held by Hamas. Officials did not indicate Saturday approximately how many are still being held captive.
The four-day cease-fire agreement allows for hundreds of aid trucks to enter the devastated Gaza Strip. The United Nations said that 200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid — including food, water and medical supplies — crossed into southern Gaza from Egypt via the Rafah crossing Friday in the hours after the cease-fire began. Four trucks of fuel and four tanks of cooking gas were also delivered into Gaza, the U.N said.
Egyptian and Israeli officials had said that about 200 aid trucks will enter Gaza daily during the ceasefire.
However, a U.S. source familiar with the cease-fire deal told CBS News Saturday that Hamas believed the number of aid trucks which came into Gaza on Friday and Saturday were below the agreed upon amount, which contributed to Saturday’s standoff. The final deal agreed to by both sides had been 200 trucks daily, which was lower than an earlier draft agreement that called for 300 trucks a day, the source said.
The source added that Hamas was also frustrated over the sequence in which Palestinian prisoners were being released. Those who had been longest held were supposed to be released first, according to the terms.
Meanwhile, three Americans are expected to be among the 50 slated to be freed as part of the deal. In total, up to 10 Americans remain unaccounted for since the Hamas attack.
On Friday, Mr. Biden said the U.S. did not know when the Americans held hostage will be released, or all of their conditions. Among them is 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, whose parents were gunned down by Hamas militants on Oct. 7. On Saturday morning, a senior Biden administration official said they did not expect the American hostages to be released today.
“We are early in the process that will see at least 50 women and children released during the first phase of the agreement,” the official said. “We are hopeful that will include three dual national women and children, who are American citizens. This will unfold over the coming days. We will not comment on individual cases as the process is underway.”
In keeping its end of the deal, Israel on Friday released a first group of 39 Palestinian prisoners — 24 women and 15 teen boys. Thousands gathered in the occupied West Bank village of Beitunia on Friday to greet them after they were freed from three Israeli prisons.
The Red Cross oversaw their transfer, first to the West Bank’s Ofer Prison, and then to Beitunia.
Israeli forces had gathered outside Ofer Prison ahead of the exchange, where some Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers. CBS News cameras showed one Palestinian who was shot in the leg with a live round before being rushed into an ambulance.
Noman Abu Naeem told CBS News his 16-year-old son Ahmed was on the list of Palestinian prisoners due to be released Friday. Naeem said his son had been jailed for about a year after allegedly being arrested for joining a protest.
“Like anyone who was dying to see their son, we were thrilled,” he said of his reaction to learning of his son’s pending release.
Among the Israeli hostages released Friday was Doron Katz-Asher and her two daughters, ages 2 and 4. They had been kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz.
Israeli authorities previously said about a quarter of the Nir Oz’s residents, which is located about a mile-and-a-half from the Gaza border, were either massacred or taken hostage by Hamas militants on Oct 7.
“I just broke down in tears,” Dori Roberts, a cousin of Doron Katz-Asher, told CBS News Friday. “I had to walk away and let everything go. It was a very exciting moment.”
The hostages were bussed to Israel, where their first stop was a military base for a health assessment, and then onto helicopters bound for Israeli hospitals and their waiting families.
Released Israeli hostages on Friday.
IDF Spokesperson, courtesy of the families
Mr. Biden said Friday he thought “the chances are real” for the temporary pause in the fighting to be extended, and that he remains in contact with the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and Israel “to make sure this stays on track and every aspect of the deal is implemented.”
An hour into the temporary truce Friday, CBS News cameras captured the moments that Israeli soldiers fatally shot at least two Palestinians in an effort to block them from returning to evacuated northern Gaza.
CBS News producer Marwan al-Ghoul reported that between 4,000 and 5,000 people had begun to journey north from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis despite leaflets dropped by Israel Defense Forces warning them against it. They encountered a line of Israeli tanks at a crossover point in central Gaza when they were fired upon.
Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, stressed to reporters Thursday that while Qatar was serving as an intermediary between the two sides, it would be on Israel and Hamas to maintain the tenets of the cease-fire agreement.
More than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed by Hamas militants during their Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, according to the Israeli military.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says almost 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s retaliatory ground incursion and airstrikes, and the United Nations estimates that 1.7 million of the territory’s roughly 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced by the war.
— Margaret Brennan, Lilia Luciano, Imtiaz Tyab, Tucker Reals, Elias Lopez, Caitlin Yilek, Bo Erickson, Khaled Wassef and Holly Williams contributed to this report.
Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.
More hostages, prisoners expected to be released in Israel-Hamas deal, Israeli officials say; The Dish: Chef Charlie Mitchell earns second Michelin star for restaurant called Clover Hill
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Israeli officials said that Hamas is expected to release 14 hostages taken captive on Oct. 7 today as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas. In return, Israel will release 42 Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, the short-term cease-fire and ramped up humanitarian aid will continue. Lilia Luciano is in Tel Aviv with more.
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The first group of hostages taken captive by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel were released from Gaza hours after the four-day cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas took effect Friday morning, officials said. More than three dozen Palestinians jailed in Israel were also released as part of the deal.
Thirteen Israeli hostages were handed over by Hamas on Friday, the head of Israel’s government press office confirmed to CBS News just after 5 p.m. local time. CBS News correspondent Lilia Luciano reported that Red Cross trucks appearing to carry freed Israeli hostages crossed the Gaza border into Egypt around 6 p.m. local time.
Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Majed Al-Ansari said on social media that in total, 24 hostages had been released. That includes the 13 Israeli hostages, 10 Thai hostages and one Filipino hostage.
The Israeli Defense Forces said on social media just before 7 p.m. local time that the released hostages were on Israeli soil and had undergone initial medical assessments. IDF members accompanied the released hostages to hospitals where they will be reunited with their families. The IDF also shared a video of a bus carrying the freed hostages entering Israel.
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי – Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) November 24, 2023
“We just completed the return of the first of our hostages: children, their mothers and additional women,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. “Each of them is an entire world. But I emphasize to you, the families, and to you, citizens of Israel: we are committed to returning all the hostages. This is one of the aims of the war and we are committed to achieving all the aims of the war.”
CBS News contributor Robert Berger said the release had gone “smoothly.”
“It (was) a very dramatic moment and it seems to be unfolding as planned,” Berger said.
The released Israelis ranged in age from 2 to 85 and included several mothers and four children, the Israeli government said.
Netanyahu’s office said in a Friday evening statement that Israeli intelligence had received a list of a second group of hostages due to be released Saturday “in continuation” of the cease-fire agreement. Those hostages’ families have been notified, the prime minister’s office said.
The 10 Thai nationals were released around 4 p.m. local time. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on social media that Thai embassy officials were going to pick up the released hostages. The chairman of Egypt’s State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said the release of the Thai nationals came after “intensive Egyptian efforts.”
Al-Ansari said the freeing of these hostages happened “as part of ongoing mediation, outside the framework of the agreement of the Humanitarian Pause” brokered by Qatar, Egypt, the U.S., Israel and Hamas.
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that it had “began carrying out a multi-day operation to facilitate the release and transfer of hostages held in Gaza and of Palestinian detainees to the West Bank.”
A Red Cross vehicle, as part of a convoy believed to be carrying hostages abducted by Hamas militants during the October 7 attack on Israel, arrives at the Rafah border, amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, as seen from southern Gaza Strip November 24, 2023.
IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS
Al-Ansari also said that 39 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli jails were released Friday, “upholding the commitment of the first day of the agreement.”
Thousands gathered Friday in the occupied West Bank village of Beitunia to greet the freed Palestinian prisoners, 24 women and 15 teen boys.
Israel Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry went to Israel’s Damon prison to meet with its guards ahead of their release.
“This is our mission, for the sake of returning the kidnapped people home, and we will do it to the best of our abilities,” Perry said in a statement.
The Red Cross oversaw the transfer of the prisoners, first to the West Bank’s Ofer Prison, and then to Beitunia.
Israeli forces gathered outside Ofer Prison ahead of the exchange, where some Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers. Cameras showed one Palestinian who was shot in the leg before being rushed into an ambulance. The Associated Press reported that journalists from their agency saw Palestinians waiting to greet the released prisoners had tear gas fired at them by the IDF.
The releases are part of a deal that calls for Hamas to free at least 50 hostages and Israel to release 150 Palestinians from its prisons. Israel’s military sounded alarms in several villages near Gaza just minutes after the short-term truce began Friday morning, warning of possible incoming rocket fire, but there was no immediate word of ongoing violence between Israeli forces and Hamas, leaving hope that the first hostage releases under the deal would still go forward later Friday.
The cease-fire got underway at 7 a.m. local time, which is midnight on the U.S. East Coast. The Israeli military did not make any official announcement at that time but said in a statement less than two hours later that it had “completed its operational preparations according to the combat lines of the pause.”
A spokesperson stressed in a social media post just minutes after 7 a.m. local time that the suspension of hostilities was temporary, and “the war is not over yet.”
President Biden said Friday that he expected more hostages will be released Saturday, “and more the day after, and more the day after that.”
“It’s only a start, but so far it’s gone well,” Mr. Biden said of Friday’s hostage release, adding that “in the next hour or so we’ll know what the second wave of releases are.” The U.S. does not know when the Americans held hostage would be released or all of their conditions, Mr. Biden said.
“We don’t know what the list of all the hostages are and when they’ll be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released,” he said. “It is my hope and expectation it will be soon.”
Mr. Biden said he thought “the chances are real” for the temporary pause in the fighting to be extended and that he remains in contact with the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and Israel “to make sure this stays on track and every aspect of the deal is implemented.”
When asked if he trusts Hamas to uphold its end of the deal, Mr. Biden said, “I don’t trust Hamas to do anything right. I only trust Hamas to respond to pressure.”
Mr. Biden also acknowledged the trauma that the hostages have been though.
“All these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal, and this is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them,” he said. “The teddy bears waiting to greet those children at the hospital are a stark reminder of the trauma these children have been through, and at such a very young age.”
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee warned that the northern Gaza Strip remained “a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move around” there, adding that people in the decimated Palestinian territory “must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south of the Strip” and only move toward that area on one designated road, adding that “the movement of residents from the south of the Strip to the north will not be allowed in any way.”
Displaced Palestinians leave to try to return to their homes, passing by a house destroyed in an earlier Israeli airstrike, during a short-term cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, Nov. 24, 2023, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.
MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS
Israeli troops open fire as displaced Palestinians try to go home
CBS News producer Marwan al-Ghoul saw Israeli forces opened fire Friday on Palestinians who decided to risk heading back to their homes in northern Gaza despite leaflets dropped by the IDF warning them against it. Al-Ghoul said thousands of displaced civilians left the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to head back north, but when they reached a crossover point in central Gaza, they encountered a line of Israeli tanks and were fired on by Israeli forces.
Israel’s military told CBS News it was looking into reports that several people were injured in the encounter.
Al-Ghoul said between 4,000 and 5,000 people had set off from Khan Younis, and some of them told CBS News they felt hopeless as nowhere in the Gaza Strip felt safe, and they just wanted to get back home.
Video shot by CBS News showed panicked civilians running back away from the Israeli forces at the crossing point as machinegun fire was heard.
Hostage releases expected to continue through the weekend
Under the terms of the deal brokered earlier this week with the help of the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, 50 hostages — all women and children who were kidnapped by Hamas militants during their Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel — will be freed in batches over four days.
They are among an estimated 240 captives who are still believed to be held in Gaza. Three American hostages are expected to be among those 50, per a senior Biden administration official.
In exchange for the hostages, the Israeli military agreed to the four-day pause in the war. The Israeli government said in a statement Tuesday that the release of “every 10 additional hostages” on top of those 50 “will result in one additional day in the pause.”
Prior to Friday, only four Hamas hostages had been released, two Americans and two Israelis.
“Of course, our aim is for this deal to end with a lasting truce,” said Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, at a news conference Thursday. “Right now, of course, the confines of this deal are these four days that are subject to a second phase, and following phases of expanding the pause through the formula of getting more hostages out, and therefore getting more time for the parties. We are hoping that momentum will carry, and that we would find this would open the door for further and more deep negotiations towards an end to this violence.”
״היום זה תחילת האור בקצה המנהרה. יש לנו זכות גדולה להיות ברגע המשמעותי הזה” – סא”ל י’, מפקד טייסת 118 (“דורסי הלילה”). הטייסת אמונה על המשימה החשובה של החזרת החטופים הביתה. pic.twitter.com/E6BGOB0da1
In a message shared on social media, Israel’s air force showed photos of a military transport plane ready to ferry the freed hostages, with empty seats holding ear covers, some for adults and others for children, to shield them from the noise of the aircraft.
“Today is the beginning of the light at the end of the tunnel,” the air force said in its post, calling it a “great privilege” to be in helping in “the important task of returning the abductees home.”
When asked by reporters Thursday whether the youngest American hostage, Abigail Mor Idan — whose fourth birthday is Friday — would soon be released, Mr. Biden responded: “fingers crossed.” Both of Idan’s parents were gunned down by Hamas.
At kibbutz Nir Oz, Noam and Lior Peri knew their 79-year-old father Chaim would not be among the first hostages released.
“It is really hard to think how he’s coping, how he’s dealing with those, probably days and nights that he doesn’t even know where he is, what time is it,” Noam told CBS News.
“I have huge faith that I will see him again,” Lior added.
Al Ansari said he expected the release of Palestinian prisoners to follow closely after that of the Gaza hostages. According to Palestinian prisoner rights’ groups, there are an estimated 7,000 Palestinians currently jailed in Israel, including over 200 Palestinian children and about 75 women, with dozens arrested in the past few weeks alone.
Samaher Aouad’s daughter, Norhan, is on Israel’s list of jailed Palestinians who might be freed as part of the deal. Norhan was arrested at age 15 for the attempted stabbing of an Israeli soldier nine years ago.
“The Israeli occupation stole her childhood and that’s what I feel sad about,” Aouwad told CBS News. “No one can replace her childhood.”
Aid trucks started moving into Gaza within a couple hours of the cease-fire taking effect, through southern Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt. The Reuters news agency had a live camera position at the Rafah crossing that showed trucks carrying fuel moving through the border gate into Gaza. Israeli officials said on social media that 200 trucks carrying water, food, medical supplies and shelter equipment entered the Gaza Strip Friday morning. Four trucks of fuel and four tanks of cooking gas also entered the territory.
Today, the largest shipment of humanitarian aid since the beginning of the war is being delivered into the Gaza Strip. 200 trucks carrying water, food, medical supplies, and shelter equipment, as well as 4 trucks of fuel and 4 tanks of cooking gas, entered Gaza via Rafah crossing pic.twitter.com/bVyz5bFDkG
Diaa Rashwan, chairman of Egypt’s State Information Service, said in a statement early Friday morning that about 34,000 gallons of fuel would enter Gaza every day during the cease-fire, along with about 200 trucks carrying food, medicine and water.
“The need is so great, that no matter how much aid you are going to bring in, there will be certainly more need for aid,” Al-Ansari said in Qatar.
The fighting in Gaza has been unrelenting since Hamas launched its bloody terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli officials.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says almost 15,000 people have since been killed in Gaza by Israel’s retaliatory ground incursion and airstrikes, and the U.N. estimates that 1.7 million of the enclave’s roughly 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced from their homes.
— Imtiaz Tyab, Margaret Brennan, Khaled Wassef, Holly Williams, Lilia Luciano, Jordan Freiman and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.
Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The negotiations hardly ran smoothly. But, in the end, persistence paid off.
Six weeks ago, not long after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took scores of others hostage in a surprise assault, the government of Qatar quietly reached out to the United States to discuss how to secure the release of those who were taken captive by the militant group.
The start of a short-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that will allow for the release of some hostages held in Gaza, the release of Palestinians being held by Israel and for more humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip has been delayed until Friday, an Israeli official said.
“The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly. The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday,” Israeli National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi said Wednesday in a statement.
The release of hostages, along with a four-day cease-fire, was originally set to begin Thursday morning. A spokesperson for the National Security Council stressed that the delay did not indicate the deal was in peril.
“The deal was agreed and remains agreed. The parties are working out final logistical details, particularly for the first day of implementation,” Adrienne Watson, the NSC spokesperson, said in a statement. “It is our view that nothing should be left to chance as the hostages begin coming home. Our primary objective is to ensure that they are brought home safely. That is on track and we are hopeful that implementation will begin on Friday morning.”
According to the terms of the deal, Hamas will release 50 hostages, all women and children, over the course of four days. Three Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will be released for every Israeli hostage released by Hamas. President Biden said three Americans are among those expected to be released by Hamas. One of the American hostages is a three-year-old girl, the only American child being held by Hamas, but it was not immediately clear if she would be part of the initial release.
There is a possibility more could be released by both sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that “the release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.”
If the first phase of the hostage release goes as planned, roughly 20 more hostages will be released by Hamas and the pause in fighting would be extended.
Israel has said Hamas militants seized about 240 hostages during their Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed. Four hostages had been released before Wednesday’s deal was announced, and another, an Israeli soldier, was rescued by her Israel Defense Forces troops in Gaza. Israel also said two hostages were found dead near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza last week.
An operation center is expected to be set up in Doha, Qatar, to monitor the hostage transfers. The Qatari government, along with Egypt, was instrumental in helping plan and negotiate the deal.
The neutral International Committee of the Red Cross is expected to take custody of the hostages from Hamas in Gaza and hand them over to the Israel Defense Forces.
A woman looks at photographs of hostages who were abducted during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Nov. 22, 2023.
Oded Balilty / AP
A source familiar with the talks told CBS News that most of the Palestinian prisoners who are released will live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, though some did come from Gaza.
During the pause in fighting, aid will be allowed into the Gaza Strip, with 300 trucks per day carrying supplies, including cooking oil for bakeries and fuel for hospitals, a source familiar with the talks told CBS News.
Prior to a Wednesday meeting of Israel’s war cabinet to discuss the hostage deal, Netanyahu stressed in a statement that the pause would not mean an end to the war.
“There is a lot of nonsense out there to the effect that after the pause to return our hostages, we will stop the war. Then let me make it clear: We are at war — and will continue the war,” he said. “We will continue the war until we achieve all of our war aims: To eliminate Hamas, return all of our hostages and our missing, and ensure that there is no element in Gaza that threatens Israel.”
— Margaret Brennan, Kathryn Watson and Tucker Reals contributed reporting.
Jordan Freiman is an editor and writer for CBSNews.com. He covers breaking news, trending stories, sports and crime. Jordan has previously worked at Spin and Death and Taxes.
Israeli soldiers continued their search of Gaza’s largest hospital Thursday, where they said they found more proof Hamas was using it as a command center, including a tunnel shaft and a vehicle with weapons. The body of 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss, one of the hostages abducted by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, was found in a building near Al-Shifa. Debora Patta reports from Israel.
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Jewish activist groups organized a rally that shut down the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue on Wednesday, a move of civil disobedience as they advocated for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Protesters gather at De Longpre Park in Los Angeles on Wednesday before marching to Hollywood.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
Hundreds attended the protest, most of them wearing black. The Los Angeles Police Department said at about 5:30 p.m. that traffic was closed around the demonstration, with protesters sitting in the intersection.
Hollywood Boulevard was shut down between Orange Drive and Las Palmas Avenue, while Highland Avenue was closed from Franklin Place to Sunset Boulevard.
The rally was co-organized by the groups IfNotNow and Jewish Voices for Peace, both of which are urging a ceasefire in Gaza. Participants at the event were holding signs reading, “Jews say no to genocide,” and chanting, “Rain or shine, Free Palestine!” amid Wednesday’s rainstorm.
The event began in De Longpre Park in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m., with participants gathering before marching to the intersection in the heart of Hollywood.
By 7:50 p.m., the protesters had cleared the intersection, and traffic had resumed. No arrests were made as a result of the event.
“The Demonstration was peaceful and participants have cleared the scene,” LAPD posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Thank you for your patience.”
Somber protesters in black gather Wednesday at De Longpre Park. Jewish activist groups organized the rally demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
Although the Hollywood protest proceeded without incident, a similar protest advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza that was happening concurrently outside the Democratic National Headquarters in Washington, D.C., did not. The Washington rally erupted into violence Wednesday night, with Capitol police tussling with and arresting participants. Members of both IfNotNow and Jewish Voices for Peace were reported to be among those in attendance.
