All articles tagged with #hostages
Three years after the October 7, 2023 attack, Israeli survivors remain traumatized and politically divided as national elections approach. While Israel rebuilds communities like Nir Oz, public discourse largely ignores Palestinian civilian suffering in Gaza. International sympathy for Israel has waned, with critics arguing that appeals for empathy have failed to counter global narratives of Israeli aggression.
Israeli forces killed Saher Nidal Latfi Sakr, the man filmed abducting Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023. The IDF’s Gideonim Unit 33 located Sakr in the Nuseirat area of Gaza, where he was allegedly planning attacks and supplying weapons to Hamas. A second strike killed Muhammad Hamad Muhammad Gabain, a Hamas commander linked to nine hostages. Argamani was rescued in 2024 but died of brain cancer shortly after; Or was released in 2025.
Israeli forces killed Saher Nidal Latfi Sakr, the global jihadist who abducted Noa Argamani and Avinatan Or on October 7, 2023, and Muhammad Hamad Muhammad Gabain, a Hamas commander involved in holding nine hostages. The strikes, conducted by the IDF and Shin Bet, targeted individuals who continued to supply weapons and plan attacks in violation of the ceasefire. The operations also included the elimination of key figures in Hamas's financial infrastructure, disrupting over $1 billion in funding.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the deaths of three senior Hamas figures in recent strikes on Gaza, including the group's finance chief and two commanders linked to the October 7 attacks and hostage captivity. The operations, conducted in Gaza City and Khan Yunis, target Hamas's financial infrastructure and military rebuilding efforts in violation of the current ceasefire.
Motaz Azaiza, a Gaza photographer once Nobel-nominated and Time100 honoree, says on the Taqarrab podcast that he filmed a mob beating Israeli hostages on Oct. 7, 2023 but chose not to publish the footage to protect those involved from Israeli retaliation; he also claimed that Gaza media coverage is funneled through a Hamas-controlled WhatsApp channel and that reporters who criticize Hamas are persecuted. Azaiza, who now lives in Qatar, has been named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in 2024.
Israeli forces say they killed Hamas commander Ismail Barim in Khan Yunis, who held three hostages after Oct. 7, and also struck Yahya Sinwar’s former bodyguard Razek Abu Shahma along with additional Hamas Nukhba operatives, anti-tank commander Bilal Raqi’i and Azzam Abd Abadala in Gaza strikes; the military says the operations target Hamas leadership and infrastructure as it seeks to prevent attacks and halt Hamas’s rebuilding efforts in the Gaza Strip.
Ex-hostage Evyatar David, freed after 738 days in Gaza, recounts extreme starvation and being used in Hamas propaganda videos, and explains how music and family support are aiding his long rehabilitation. He emphasizes the need to keep the world’s attention on hostages, and plans public appearances in the U.S. to ensure the hostage story remains front-and-center.
Armed men stormed Kenscoff near Port-au-Prince, killing at least 47 people (including children) and abducting more than 50. A gang leader threatened to kill the hostages and police if any gang members are harmed. The attack, the largest in Kenscoff to date, highlights Haiti's security crisis and tests police and the UN-backed force ahead of December elections.
The Nigerian army and police rescued 33 people abducted by gunmen in Zamfara state after troops intercepted the abductors; all hostages were recovered unharmed as the attackers fled, underscoring the ongoing risk of abductions by armed groups in north-west Nigeria.
Comedian Michael Rapaport says Trump’s efforts to free Israeli hostages shifted his long-running critique of the president, noting that after Oct. 7 the urgency of securing captives made him refrain from insults and show respect, though he reserves the right to criticize. He also discussed his Israel-related advocacy and teased a 2029 NYC mayoral bid with a hard-nosed, street-fighting campaign style.
Comedian Michael Rapaport says his long‑standing insults toward Donald Trump cooled after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing hostage crisis; conversations with hostage families and his experiences in Israel reshaped his view, leading him to stop disparaging Trump and focus on getting hostages home, while signaling a 2029 NYC mayoral bid with a hard-edged, street‑fighter campaign.
Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 24, freed after two years in Hamas captivity, describes brutal sexual assaults by his captors—including being stripped, taunted, groped, and threatened with a knife and gun—and says he was forced to profess love before his release; he is urging other survivors to come forward to empower others as one of the final hostages freed under a cease-fire.
CBS News obtained a two‑minute recording from inside Iran’s Evin Prison in which Iranian‑American journalist Reza Valizadeh pleads for medical treatment for himself and fellow Americans detained in Tehran, describing illnesses and limited care; U.S. officials say six Americans remain detained and, despite ongoing diplomacy, none will be released as part of the current truce. Valizadeh’s case is tied to broader hostage diplomacy, with his designation as a
A bomb threat prompted a more-than-15-hour standoff in a Bakersfield, California office building that houses a bank and a school district office. The FBI fatally shot the man holding hostages around 4:20 a.m. Wednesday; two hostages were released earlier and the remaining hostages were unharmed, with nearby buildings evacuated during the incident.
The FBI and Bakersfield Police Department ended a hostage situation at a Chase building in Bakersfield after a bomb threat, with all 10 hostages freed and the suspect identified by authorities.