November 25, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.

The Thai foreign ministry has confirmed that four Thai nationals were released from Gaza Saturday, including Manee Jirachart, whose family CNN spoke with last month.

His father Chumporn Jirachart showed CNN the last image he saw of his son — the bunker where he was taking cover on the October 7 attacks. 

Manee had gone to work in Israel to send money home to his family and was expected to return next year. He was released Saturday along with three other Thais.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted the names of the released hostages on his social media. They are Natthaporn Onkaew, Komkrit Chombua, Anucha Angkaew and Manee Jirachart.

All four are in good health at Shamir Medical Center in Israel and none of them needed emergency medical care, Thavisin said.

On Friday, 10 Thai nationals were freed by Hamas, bringing the total to 14 Thais released. The ministry estimated that 18 Thai nationals are still being held hostage.

Context: Among many of the foreigners killed and captured by Hamas were also migrant workers from Asia who work in the country’s agricultural, construction and healthcare sectors. Thailand has for decades made up one of the biggest sources of migrant labor in Israel, and suffered one of the highest tolls of any nation beyond Israel itself.

Aid trucks drive down a road in Rafah, Gaza, on Saturday.

Sixty-one trucks delivered food, water, and emergency medical supplies to northern Gaza on Saturday, according to the United Nations, the largest number of trucks to reach the north since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

As day two of the Hamas-Israel truce unfolded, 11 ambulances, three coaches, and a flatbed went to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to help with evacuations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Saturday.

Two hundred trucks went to the Nitzana border crossing with Egypt, while 187 entered Gaza by 7 p.m. local time (12p.m. ET), according to the UN.

129,000 liters of fuel also crossed into Gaza, it said.

In an earlier statement, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 187 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent on Saturday and dispatched the largest aid convoy to Gaza City and the northern parts of the strip since October 7.

It said the convoy was “loaded with food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies, from aid that entered through Rafah (Saturday) as well as from PRCS warehouses in the south,” the statement said, adding that it successfully distributed the aid.  

The PRCS added that it has received 1,946 aid trucks in Gaza since October 21.

Hamas has released a video showing the handover of the second group of hostages released to Red Cross officials from captivity inside Gaza.

The video is similar to one released after the first group of hostages were freed on Friday, and consists of a series of edited clips. It was released on the social media platforms of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. 

CNN was not present at any of the locations when the clips were filmed and had no control over the content. 

The video shows several of the Israeli children being handed over to Red Cross officials, as well as Maya Regev, who was later sent to a hospital for treatment. She is seen making her way to the back of a Red Cross vehicle on crutches. 

Some of the hostages are holding hands as they walk to the vehicles. 

Hamas fighters in black balaclavas and green bandanas are present at all the handovers, along with Red Cross officials wearing white jackets and bibs clearly marked with the Red Cross logo.

In several of the clips, the gunmen wave goodbye to the hostages, who appear to have little choice but to wave and smile in return — a response under duress that likely reflects their relief at going home after seven weeks in captivity.

Another clip shows the four Thai nationals also being escorted to a Red Cross vehicle and climbing in the back. They, too, appear to feel coerced into waving and giving the ‘thumbs up’ sign to their captors. 

All the clips were filmed after sundown and it is not clear if the handover points were the same as on Friday.

Unlike the video of the first group handover yesterday, the clip has audio throughout.

Context: So far 41 hostages have been released in the first two days of the truce. Thirteen Israeli civilians were freed along with 11 foreign nationals in the initial exchange on Friday, followed by another 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals on Saturday.

People participate in a show of solidarity with hostages being held in Gaza, near the Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday.

Excitement has been replaced by tension in Israel, after a brief delay before the release of several Israeli hostages on Saturday underscored the tenuousness of the nation’s deal with Hamas, which still holds around 200 captives in Gaza.

Many demonstrators appeared close to tears at a rally for the families of hostages in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, even as a diplomatic scramble was taking place to restart the release process.

The deal brokered with Hamas is designed to see captives kidnapped on October 7 exchanged for Palestinian women and children imprisoned in Israel, a four-day truce in fighting, and increased humanitarian aid access to the besieged enclave.

Despite news that the deal was back on, just hours later, a mood of bitterness lingered – in a stark contrast to the jubilant scenes on Friday when the first group of freed Israeli hostages were reunited with their families.

Hamas on Saturday blamed the delay on issues with the amount of aid being delivered and selection of Palestinian prisoners being released.

Some relief finally came overnight, when 17 hostages were allowed to leave Gaza and cross into Israel – a small group that included four Thai nationals and 9-year-old Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli dual citizen.

Thirty-nine Palestinian teenagers and women were also released from Israeli prisons, per the terms of the exchange, on Saturday.

When the first group of 24 hostages were released on Friday, crowds of onlookers cheered their arrival at hospitals around Tel Aviv.

Read the full story here.

Israeli hostage, Maya Regev, who was released by Hamas on Saturday has arrived at Soroka Hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba for treatment of a moderate injury, according to the hospital and Israel’s Ministry of Health.

The 21-year-old is in a stable condition and her injury is not considered life threatening, according to the statement.

Maya and her brother Itay, 18, were both taken hostage by Hamas gunmen at the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the deadly October 7 attacks.

The first hostage taken from the rave party to be freed, she was said to have sustained the injury during her abduction.

She will meet with her family members at the hospital and receive medical and psychological care as needed.

In an interview with CNN last month, their father Ilan replayed a terrifying call Maya had placed to her father during the brutal attack by Hamas on the Nova festival. “Dad, they shot me, they shot me!” Maya can be heard screaming down the phone.

Context: The Nova Festival was in a rural farmland area near the Gaza-Israel border was one of multiple locations hit on October 7 by Hamas militants. More than 260 bodies were found at the site in the aftermath of the attacks.

Israel has received a list of hostages due to be released Sunday in accordance with an agreement signed with Hamas, according to Israel’s Prime Minister’s office. 

Context: The list marks what is set to be the third day of releases since a truce for a temporary pause in fighting came into effect on Friday. Under the agreement, a total of 50 hostages are expected to be freed over the four days, while Palestinian prisoners are also due to be released in waves.

Twenty four hostages — including 13 Israeli civilians and 11 foreign nationals — were freed on Friday, followed by 17 more — 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — on Saturday.

This post has been updated with additional information from Israel’s Prime Minister’s office.

Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari speaks during an interview in Doha, Qatar, on November 12.

Qatar is hoping to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas beyond the agreed upon four days, Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told CNN Saturday.

Al-Ansari said he continues to work with senior officials in Qatar to address concerns from either side of the conflict regarding the implementation of the hostage deal. 

Al-Ansari added that he could not confirm if any Americans would be released on the third day of the truce.

The ministry spokesperson also said Qatar is working with partners in Egypt, the United States, and both parties of the conflict to ensure the agreed amount of aid trucks are allowed into Gaza.

Al-Ansari responded to the head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs who accused Israel of not abiding by the agreement to release prisoners in order of length of time served.

Some context: A second group of hostages released from Gaza — comprising 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — arrived in Israel late Saturday, according to Israeli officials and a CNN team on the ground. Hamas had delayed the second exchange over a dispute about the prisoners and aid for Gaza that was resolved through mediation, according to Qatar.

An ambulance believed to be carrying released hostages drives near the Israel-Gaza border early Sunday, local time.

The Israel Defense Forces said early Sunday local time that the 17 hostages released on Saturday are leaving the initial meeting point in Israel.

The released hostages — 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — underwent an initial medical assessment, and one civilian was transferred to a hospital an hour ago. Others are on their way to hospitals, where they will reunite with their families, the IDF said in a statement.

People crowd around a bus carrying released Palestinian prisoners near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Sunday.

Palestinians have gathered in front of the Al-Bireh municipality building near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, where some of the 39 detainees and prisoners released by Israel as part of a deal with Hamas are expected to arrive shortly.

The Israeli Prison Authority confirmed that all 39 had left their places of incarceration —Damon and Megiddo prisons in Israel, and Ofer prison in the West Bank — earlier Saturday.

Of those, 33 are teenage boys and six are women.

Based on information from the Israeli Prison Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an NGO promoting prisoners’ rights, CNN assesses that 15 of those released on Saturday were serving sentences, mostly for attacks on Israelis.  

The other 24 were held in what is called administrative detention, which means they were held without knowing any charges against them, and without any legal process.

Israa Al-Jaabis reunites with her family in East Jerusalem early Sunday after being released from an Israeli prison.

Violence near one of the prisons: Three boys were shot and wounded with live ammunition near Ofer prison earlier Saturday evening, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

A CNN team on the ground near Beitunia crossing, which is about 200 meters away from the Israeli prison, had witnessed many Palestinians waiting in the area for the expected release of the prisoners. The team heard three gunshots over the course of an hour and witnessed three boys being carried away on a stretcher over the same time period.

The Red Crescent said two of the boys were 17, and one was 16.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Border Police for comment.

CNN’s Nada Bashir, Abeer Salman, Celine Alkhaldi and Kareem Khadder contributed reporting to this post.

This post has been updated with details about the shooting outside Ofer prison.

A Red Cross vehicle carrying released hostages enters the Rafah border crossing on Saturday.

A group of released hostages arrived in Israel after leaving Gaza in a Red Cross convoy late Saturday local time, according to the Israeli military. A CNN team on the ground saw the convoy arrive.

The group includes 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals, Israel said.

Here are other headlines you should know:

Thomas Hand, the father of Emily Hand, holds up a picture of them together at his hotel near the Dead Sea in Israel on November 10.

Thomas Hand thought his daughter Emily was killed in Hamas’ October 7 attacks, but she is listed among the Israeli hostages released by Hamas late Saturday.

Hand, who told CNN’s Clarissa Ward of the news before it was officially announced by Israel, said he was bringing his 9-year-old daughter’s dog, Johnny, to Israel and Egypt’s border Saturday. He said he planned to meet Emily there when the Red Cross convoy arrived.

Hand said he has been living in a period of anguish and hope.

He was initially told Emily had died. Weeks later, Israeli officials told him that they’re not sure Emily was killed, as they had not located her body and didn’t find any blood in the home where she was sleeping.

She turned 9 in captivity, Hand, who is a single parent after his wife died of cancer, previously told CNN.

He told CNN Saturday he hopes this will be the first step toward Emily’s recovery and is aware of the long road she has ahead to heal after being in captivity for nearly 50 days.

US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Friday.

President Joe Biden discussed hurdles to the hostage implementation deal earlier Saturday during a call with the emir of Qatar, according to the White House. 

During the call, previously reported by CNN, the leaders “discussed hurdles to implementation of the deal and mechanisms for resolving those hurdles as soon as possible.” 

They agreed to “remain in close contact,” a White House readout said.

Some context: The hostage release deal is the latest example of Qatar’s capacity to play on all sides of a treacherous regional power game. Home to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the oil-rich Arab nation also hosts a vast US air base that is critical to American national security – a duality that reflects the emirate’s emerging role as a Middle Eastern power with wider aspirations.

The Israeli government is trying to determine why a mother taken hostage on October 7 was not released along with her daughter today. 

Hila Rotem, 13, was among the Israeli hostages released Saturday, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. 

Raaya Rotem, Hila’s mother, is not listed among those hostages released. Hila and Raaya, 54, were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

An Israeli government official told CNN that mothers and children are not supposed to be separated under the agreement.

“That’s part of the deal,” the official said. “It’s unknown where she is and what happened to her.”

People carry empty gas canisters to be filled with cooking gas from a tank that entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Saturday.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke Saturday with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant to discus the release of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to a Department of Defense statement.

Austin “acknowledged the critical roles played by the governments of Israel, Qatar and Egypt in reaching an agreement that will also see increased humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries to civilians in Gaza,” it said. 

Austin also reaffirmed US interest in preventing the conflict in Gaza from expanding into Lebanon.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 187 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent on Saturday and dispatched the largest aid convoy to Gaza City and the northern parts of the strip since October 7, the day of Hamas’ attacks in Israel. 

It said the convoy was “loaded with food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies, from aid that entered through Rafah (Saturday) as well as from PRCS warehouses in the south,” the statement said, adding that it successfully distributed the aid.  

The PRCS added that it has received 1,946 aid trucks in Gaza since October 21.

Top row, from left: Noga Weiss, Shiri Weiss, Adi Shoham, Naveh Shoham and Yahel Shoham. Middle row, from left: Maya Regev, Noam Avigdori, Sharon Avigdori, Hila Rotem and Emily Hand. Bottom row, from left: Shoshan Haran, Alma Or and Noam Or.

The Israeli prime minister’s office and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum have each released the names and ages of all thirteen Israeli hostages released on the second day of a truce between Israel and Hamas Saturday:

Dror Or, the father of Noam and Alma Or, is still being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to Israeli officials. Yonat Or, the children’s mother and Dror’s wife, was killed on October 7.

Raaya Rotem, the mother of Hila Rotem, is also still being held in Gaza.

Four additional hostages: Israel said a total of 17 hostages were released by Hamas on Saturday. The four people not listed above are Thai nationals, the Israel Defense Forces said.

A group of 17 freed hostages is now inside Israel after leaving Gaza in a Red Cross convoy late Saturday night local time, according to the Israeli military.

A CNN team on the ground saw the convoy arrive.

The group includes 13 Israelis and four foreign nationals, Israel said. The four foreigners were Thai nationals, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

This post has been updated with additional information about the hostages.

Four Thai nationals have been released by Hamas late Saturday night in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said.

A Red Cross convoy enters the Rafah border crossing late Saturday night.

A group of hostages was seen leaving Gaza in a Red Cross convoy late Saturday night local time.

The Red Cross had earlier confirmed that it was headed to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt with the hostages, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Hamas said it had handed over 13 Israelis and seven foreign nationals to the organization, though Qatar and the IDF each said the number of released foreign nationals was only four.

Remember: Saturday’s planned exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners between Israel and Hamas was delayed after a dispute over terms between the two sides, which Qatar later said was resolved through mediation.

This post has been updated to reflect developments on the ground and an update on hostages from the IDF and Qatar.

A convoy of Egyptian ambulances and a bus is on the move to receive a handover of hostages from the Red Cross, an eyewitness told CNN Saturday night local time.

The convoy is headed from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing to the Gaza side.

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 24.

US President Joe Biden spoke with the emir of Qatar and the Qatari prime minister Saturday as part of the administration’s efforts to try to resolve the delay on the second day of hostage releases, US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. 

Other senior US officials were in touch with their Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian counterparts, with Biden being briefed throughout the course of the day, according to Watson. 

Within the last hour, White House officials were informed by Qatari officials that the issue had been resolved, and that the Red Cross was moving to retrieve the hostages set to be released today.

Obstacles causing a delay in today’s expected hostage and prisoner release “were overcome” through mediation, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said. 

What we know about who will be freed: The hostages set to be released from Gaza Saturday include eight Israeli children, five Israeli women and an additional seven people from other countries, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, said on the social media platform X. Further details about the foreign nationals were not immediately available.

The Palestinian prisoners set for release include 33 teenagers and six women, according to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs on Saturday.

The prisoners are mostly from the occupied West Bank, except for six from East Jerusalem, the statement added.

This post has been updated with details about the hostages and prisoners.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter southern Gaza through the Rafah crossing on November 25.

Northern Gaza has so far received fewer than half of the number of aid trucks that should have come through under the truce deal with Israel, Hamas said Saturday evening local time, thus “endangering” the agreement on an exchange of hostages for prisoners.

Speaking at a news conference in Beirut, Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said the group remains committed to the agreement if Israel “commits to implementing it.”

Hamdan also accused Israel of “manipulating the names and criteria of releasing women and child prisoners, endangering the agreement.” 

Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, had earlier announced the group is delaying the handover of hostages on the second day of the truce.

There’s a diplomatic scramble to try to resolve issues delaying the exchange of hostages for prisoners on the second day of the humanitarian pause.

Qatar, along with the US and Egypt, is pushing to get the hostage release deal sorted out, according to a source familiar with the matter. 

Both Israel and Hamas are in ongoing discussions with Qatari officials to resolve the delays as soon as possible, the source said.

The US is working with Qatar, Egypt and Israel on implementation of the deal, a senior US administration official says.

Remember: Qatar has played a pivotal role as mediator in discussions involving the current truce and hostage deal, which is stalled today over disputes surrounding aid for Gaza and prisoners held by Israel.

People hold signs as they await news of hostages held by Hamas on November 25, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Hamas says it is delaying the handover of hostages on the second day of its truce with Israel as it disputes the amount of aid being delivered and selection of Palestinian prisoners being released.

Diplomatic sources close to the negotiations tell CNN they are not aware that the process of Hamas handing over hostages has begun. 

These sources contradict what a Hamas and Israeli source earlier told CNN, and what Israeli media had been reporting: that the handover of hostages was underway. 

Soon after CNN initially reported about the process being underway, Hamas issued a statement saying they were delaying the release of hostages until the “terms of agreement” were agreed to by Israel relating to aid and the release of Palestinian prisoners. 

Earlier, CNN reported the second release of hostages from Hamas had been delayed in part over a dispute regarding the amount of aid entering Gaza Saturday, according to Israel and US officials. Hamas is waiting on more trucks of aid to enter before facilitating the transfer, the sources said.

A convoy of aid trucks is seen in Gaza, on November 25.

The second group of hostages to be released by Hamas was delayed Saturday in part over a dispute regarding the amount of aid entering Gaza, according to Israel and US officials. 

Hamas said it would wait on more trucks of aid to enter the enclave before facilitating the transfer, the sources said.

An Egyptian official said earlier that 340 aid trucks entered the crossing from the Egyptian side, but had so far not made it to the Gaza side, as they must be searched by Israel beforehand. A Rafah border crossing spokesperson told CNN that 133 trucks have entered Gaza so far today. 

Asked about the delay, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said only that it is a “slow process.”

“It will take time, and we’re all waiting for this to move ahead,” Hecht said.

Earlier today, Hecht told CNN he expects 13 hostages to be released in total, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli military says it is still detaining the director of northern Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya.

“We are still talking to him, yes,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said Saturday, in response to a question about Abu Salmiya’s detention from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

Hecht described the doctor’s continued detention as a “good idea,” and Al-Shifa Hospital as a “bed of terrorism.”

Hecht said Israeli officials would “see what (they) learn from talking to” Abu Salmiya, and will make a decision regarding his release in “due course.” 

Earlier Saturday, the World Health Organization called for the legal and human rights of Abu Salmiya and three other detained health workers to be respected. 

Some context: Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using the hospital for combat and command purposes, which Hamas and hospital officials deny. So far, they have provided limited evidence of such use, with an alleged Hamas underground network having only been viewed by some Israeli reporters.

Diplomatic sources close to the negotiations tell CNN they are not aware that the process of Hamas handing over hostages has begun Saturday.

These sources contradict what a Hamas and Israeli source earlier told CNN, and what Israeli media had been reporting: that the handover of hostages was underway. 

Soon after CNN initially reported about the process being underway, Hamas issued a statement saying they were delaying the release of hostages until the “terms of agreement” were agreed to by Israel relating to aid and the release of Palestinian prisoners. 

Earlier, CNN reported the second release of hostages from Hamas had been delayed in part over a dispute regarding the amount of aid entering Gaza Saturday, according to Israel and US officials. Hamas is waiting on more trucks of aid to enter before facilitating the transfer, the sources said.

UPDATE: This post has been updated to reflect that sources later contradicted what a Hamas and Israeli source initially told CNN — and what Israeli media had been reporting — that the handover of hostages was underway.

Israel Defense Forces international spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht confirmed that 13 hostages are expected to be released by Hamas today as part of a truce between the group and Israel.

However, Hecht acknowledged, “there could be changes.”

Hecht also confirmed that 39 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released in exchange for those 13 hostages.

He went on to say that operations will continue after the four-day humanitarian pause is over, “until we dismantle Hamas and until we get all of our people home.”

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) vehicle was damaged after its patrol was hit by Israel Defense Forces gunfire, UNIFIL said Saturday. 

The patrol was hit around 12 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) in the area of Aytaroun, in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“This incident occurred during a period of relative calm along the Blue Line,” it said, adding that no peacekeepers were injured. 

The force’s head of mission and force commander, Maj. Gen. Arolodo Lázaro Sáenz, on Friday urged those exchanging fire along the Blue Line to halt “this cycle of violence, strongly reminding everyone that any further escalation could have devastating consequences,” UNIFIL said. 

UNIFIL went on to say that it condemns “this act” and strongly reminded parties to the conflict “of their obligations to protect peacekeepers and avoid putting the men and women who are working to restore stability at risk.” 

The IDF told CNN Saturday that they are aware of the incident and are checking the report.  

Remember: Fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed paramilitary group Hezbollah is centered on northern Israel and southern Lebanon — separate from Israel’s fighting with Hamas further south, which is centered around Gaza.

But a steady uptick in clashes with Hezbollah since October 7 has raised fears that the powerful Lebanese group could actively participate in the conflict.

Hezbollah has voiced strong support for Palestinians and condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza, but it has not intervened on behalf of Hamas so far. The group has linked its attacks on Israel to Israel’s targeting of Lebanese territory, and the fighting remains limited to this border region for now.

A Polish citizen was among the hostages released from Gaza Friday, Poland’s foreign ministry has said. 

“We’re pleased to receive the news of a truce in Gaza, which allowed for the first group of hostages to be released, including a Polish citizen, and for an increase in humanitarian aid deliveries to the enclave,” the foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday, adding that the move was “a result of ongoing international diplomatic efforts.” 

The ministry did not provide any information on who the Polish citizen is, but used the feminine version of the noun for “citizen,” indicating the citizen is female. 

“We congratulate all partners involved in reaching of this important step. We hope the truce will be upheld. We emphasise the necessity of freeing all persons taken hostage,” the ministry added. 

The ministry went on to say that Poland continues to “strongly argue” for Israel to allow the remaining Polish citizens to leave Gaza. 

In total, 24 hostages were released on Friday — mostly Israeli and Thai citizens. A second group is expected to be released Saturday, under the agreement of 50 hostages being freed over the four-day temporary pause in fighting.

An aid truck is seen in Rafah, Gaza, on November 25.

Seventy trucks carrying food, water, fuel and medical supplies have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing on the second day of the agreed temporary truce, according to a border crossing spokesperson Saturday.

The aid includes three trucks containing 150,000 liters of fuel, and four trucks with natural gas, Hesham Edwan told CNN.

Edwan added there is an ongoing effort for more trucks to enter the Gaza Strip today, to meet the 200 trucks quota agreed upon in the humanitarian deal.

The United Nations said Friday 137 trucks carrying aid, including 129,000 liters of fuel and four trucks of gas, were off-loaded in Gaza on the first day of the pause, marking the largest humanitarian convoy to enter the strip since October 7.

Sixteen injured Palestinians and their guardians have also entered Egypt, Edwan said.

The list of hostages provided to Israel by Hamas for release Saturday has 13 names on it, multiple sources have told CNN.

Israel however, has made clear it is expecting 14 people to be released on the second day of the temporary truce in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners.

As the hour of their expected release approaches, there have been discussions over the final list, including whether it will be 13 or 14 people, several of which are expected to be children.

The head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Qadura Fares later said 39 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released on Saturday.

Friday - the first day of the temporary truce - saw the release of 24 hostages, including 13 Israeli women and children in exchange for 39 Palestinian women and children being freed from three Israeli prisons.

A second batch of Israeli hostages are due to be released soon as part of a framework agreed with Hamas on Wednesday. An Israeli source says there are “several” children among those expected to be freed.

It comes after an initial group of 24 hostages were released on Friday as a truce between Israel and Hamas — the first in weeks of fighting — appears to be holding.

Below are the latest developments:

The director of the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza remains detained along with three other health workers, the World Health Organization said in a statement. 

During a “high risk” WHO-UN joint mission on November 22 to evacuate 151 patients from the hospital to the south of Gaza, Israeli forces detained three medical personnel from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and three from the Ministry of Health, according to the statement released Friday. 

The WHO said that two had subsequently been released but that they had received no information about the well-being of the four remaining health staff, including the director of Al-Shifa hospital, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salamiya.

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that Abu Salmiya had been detained and handed over to the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, “following evidence showing that the Shifa Hospital, under his direct management, served as a Hamas command and control center. “

Some background: Israel has long said Hamas bunkers and tunnels under hospitals for military activity but has provided only limited evidence. The IDF brought some Israeli reporters to see tunnels and what appeared to be an underground room under Al-Shifa this week. CNN has not been into the alleged underground system.

On Saturday the IDF referred a question about Abu Salmiya to the Shin Bet, which did not reply immediately.  

The WHO estimates that about 100 patients and health workers remain at Al-Shifa hospital, but the exact number is difficult to determine, according to the statement.

American citizens are not expected to be part of the second wave of hostages released Saturday, a US official said.

But the White House remains “hopeful” three American citizens will be part of the negotiated hostage release in the coming days.

Remember: President Biden told reporters Friday afternoon that the US did not know when the American citizens being held hostage would be released but said it was his “hope and expectation it’ll be soon.”

He said he did not know when the three Americans who fall into the category of women or children, including now-four-year-old Abigail Edan, would be released, but confirmed he still does “expect it to occur.”

“My hope and expectation is it’ll be soon,” he said of the possibility of the three Americans being released.

Officials hope the three US citizens – two women and four-year-old Edan - will be part of the negotiated release of at least 50 women and children.

Ohad Munder, 9, and his older brother at Schneider Children’s Medical Center. 

There have been emotional scenes as child hostages freed by Hamas on Friday under a temporary truce were reunited with their loved ones.

One video released by the Schneider Children’s Medical Center shows 9-year old Ohad Munder running towards his father Avi Zichri and getting a big hug. He was freed with his grandmother Ruth and mother Keren.

Another video released by the medical center shows Yoni Asher, embracing his wife Doran and two young daughters Aviv and Raz.

Yoni asks his daughters in Hebrew “Did you miss me, yes? Did you think about Daddy? Aviv did you think about Daddy, yes? Did you think nice things about me, yes? What did mummy say about me?”

“We’ve just come here for the doctor to check us and then we’re going home but we’ve put lots of dolls and toys out for you … All the people here have bought you presents, it’s all here.”

Raz Asher, 4, and Aviv Asher, 2, hug their parents at Schneider Children’s Medical Center.

Other images from the Schneider Medical Center show former hostages Daniel Aloni and her young daughter Emilia smiling and hugging family members.

Daniel Aloni was among three women who appeared in a hostage video released by Hamas late last month. She came to the Nir Oz kibbutz to visit family and was abducted alongside her daughter. Her sister Sharon Aloni-Cunio and other family members were also kidnapped and remain in Gaza, according to a Nir Oz spokesperson. 

Another former hostage, Yafa Adar, was seen in images posted to Facebook by her family in hospital hugging and smiling with a family member. 

“She’s here! Beautiful grandma is here!” said Adriana Adar on Facebook Saturday. 

Adar is a founder of the Nir Oz kibbutz and is the oldest person to be taken hostage on October 7. 

A video of her being taken into Gaza on a golf cart driven by Hamas militants shortly after her abduction was widely shared, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

Adar’s eldest grandson, Tamir, a 38-year-old father-of-two, was also abducted, and is still held hostage, according to a Nir Oz spokesperson. 

Another woman freed – Margalit Moses – was seen smiling in an image posted to Facebook by her family. 

“Mum is back!” Yair Moses posted on Facebook on Friday.  

Watch the moment:

Relatives of male Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas insisted Saturday that the “fight still isn’t over,” making another push for their loved ones to be released. 

As part of the truce brokered between Israel and Hamas, only Israeli women and child hostages have been given the go-ahead to be released. During a virtual press conference held Saturday, the children and parents of male hostages drew attention to the plight of their relatives who are still being held in Gaza. 

“We have a big struggle ahead of us, even though we did get some hope yesterday by the release of 13 people from our communities and 11 more people that are foreign citizens that would gain relief. The fight still isn’t over,” Nadav Rudaeff said. 

He added that they “know nothing besides the fact that we know he was hurt” in the Hamas attack on Israel that day, when about 1,200 people were killed and about 240 people taken hostage. 

Noam Peri, whose 79-year-old father Chaim was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, said the family had recently received a sign of life. 

Peri said the family had gained a sense of “hope” from people in their community released Friday who said her father is still alive. Chaim’s wife Channa, 79, was among those set free on Friday. 

“It feels very urgent to let them all out. We don’t know how much time they’re going to be able to hold on there,” Noam Peri stressed. 

Rudy Chen, whose son Itai, 19, is still being held hostage described the experience as “something beyond pain.”

“I don’t know how many of you have kids, but it’s hard to describe the feeling of not knowing if your kid is alive or not. It’s something beyond pain. I don’t think it exists in your vocabulary.”

Itai Chen had been stationed at an Israel Defense Forces base near the Israel-Gaza border, not far from Nahal Oz, as part of his work protecting kibbutzim, according to his father.

“My ask, my demand, we unfortunately have not been given a sign of life,” Chen said, insisting that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) should be given access to hostages that “were kidnapped against their will.”

The majority of Palestinian prisoners released on Friday came from the occupied West Bank, according to data gathered by CNN from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and Israeli prison’s authority, the Israel Prison Service. 

In total, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 13 Israeli hostages as a planned four-day truce began.

According to the data, ten seventeen-year old boys, four sixteen-year old boys and two eighteen-year olds were released on Friday. Five of the boys had already been handed down a sentence whereas the rest had been held under detention. 

Thirteen of the boys come from the Occupied West Bank and two are from Jerusalem, according to the data. 

Twelve women in their twenties, three women in their thirties, three women in their forties and one eighteen year old and one fifty three year old woman made up the released female prisoners. 

Nine of the released women come from Jerusalem whilst the other fifteen come from the Occupied West Bank.  Five of the women had already been handed down a sentence whereas the rest had been held under detention. 

Videos obtained by CNN on Friday showed the released Palestinians meeting with celebrations as they returned to their hometowns and villages in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

A Palestinian official who focuses on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails warned Saturday of a “possible crisis” in the deal for Hamas to release hostages from Gaza in exchange for Israel freeing Palestinian detainees.

Israel is not releasing prisoners in order of length of time served, Qadura Fares, the head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs, told CNN.

CNN has asked Israeli officials for response to the accusation.

Fares made the comment as Israel prepared to release up to 42 more prisoners on Saturday, after releasing 39 women and teenagers on Friday. Under the deal, Israel is freeing three Palestinians from jail for every Israeli hostage allowed out of Gaza.

The Israeli prison administration has received the names of the 42 females and minors who are set to be released in the second batch of the deal, an Israeli official familiar with the process told CNN Saturday.

As with Friday’s releases, the process will begin with the transfer of detainees from the Megiddo and Damon prisons to the Ofer prison.

After the release of the Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip, all the Palestinian prisoners will be released from Ofer via buses belonging to the Red Cross.

Prisoners from Jerusalem will be transferred to police stations in the city, and then released. Those from the West Bank were released at the Beitunia checkpoint on the outskirts of Ramallah on Friday.

Raz Asher, 4, and Aviv Asher, 2, are embraced by their parents at Schneider Children’s Medical Center.

Eight hostages who came to the Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel on Friday evening are in “good physical condition,” the director of the department of returned children of the hospital said in a statement. 

Professor Gilat Livni also said the former hostages are “surrounded by multi-professional teams.”

Among the hostages taken to the medical center on Friday were four children, three mothers and one grandmother.

It marked the first time the state of Israel has had to prepare for the arrival of so many hostages.

Seventeen injured Palestinians have entered Egypt through the Rafah border crossing Saturday, an Egyptian government official told CNN. 

The official added that 340 aid trucks entered the crossing from the Egyptian side, but have so far not made it to the Gaza side as they must be searched by Israel beforehand. 

The aid trucks included seven fuel trucks and four gas trucks, per the official. 

CNN is aware of the slight disparity in the numbers of those trucks. 

As well as enabling the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners the pause in fighting has allowed aid to reach Gaza.

The journey back: It comes after 67 Palestinians who got stuck in Egypt during the war traveled back into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing on Friday, hours after the four-day truce went into effect.

Zeinat Al-Gindy, who traveled to Egypt for medical treatment before the war started, spoke to CNN shortly before she went through the Rafah border crossing on Friday.

“Let us return to our children. We want to hug our kids. We want to be martyred amongst our children. In Egypt, we are like a body without a soul. Our soul is with our kids, in our homeland, Gaza,” she said.  

Fourteen Israeli hostages are due to be released on Saturday, an Israeli official familiar with the list of names handed to Israel on Friday night told CNN.

That number is consistent with an Israel Prison Service statement Saturday that 42 Palestinian prisoners would be released – since the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas includes swapping three Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli hostage freed.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office currently believes 213 people are being held hostage in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. 

This comes after the first groups of hostages were released on Friday amid an agreement that brought a temporary halt to fighting in Gaza.

Top row, from left: Yafa Adar, Margalit Moses, Ruth Munder, Emilia Aloni and Daniel Aloni. Middle row, from left: Hana Katzir, Adina Moshe, Channa Peri, Doron Katz Asher and Aviv Asher. Bottom row, from left: Ohad Munder, Raz Asher and Keren Munder.

The 13 Israeli hostages released on Friday are in good, stable condition after their release, doctors said on Saturday.

The Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, east of Tel Aviv, said in a statement that “the condition of the four children and the four women who returned to Israel last night is determined good.”

“They are together with their family members in the dedicated and separate compound, surrounded by medical and psycho-social teams,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, said “the condition of five returnees who were admitted yesterday at Wolfson Hospital is stable.”

“We are waiting and hoping for the return of all the abductees,” the statement added.

The mother of a Thai hostage released on Friday told CNN she “cried out of happiness” upon learning the news.

Srichan lives in Khon Kaen province, one of the country’s poorest, with her 8-year-old granddaughter. 

She said she couldn’t contain her happiness and ran around her home, jumping up and down together with her granddaughter.

Srichan hasn’t yet spoken to her daughter but plans to travel to Bangkok to receive her.

Earlier on Saturday, the Thai government confirmed her release. She was seen in a photograph alongside the nine other Thai hostages released. 

An estimated 20 Thai nationals are still being held by Hamas as hostages in Gaza, the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.

It added that of the 10 hostages released on Friday, four had not been previously confirmed as missing by Israeli authorities.

The families of the released hostages have been notified, and Thai Embassy officials are in the process of making “necessary arrangements for their travel back to Thailand,” said the ministry.

It also thanked the governments of Qatar, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia and the International Committee of the Red Cross, expressing its “deepest appreciation to all of the parties from whom the Thai authorities had sought assistance and support.”

Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos confirmed the release of a Philippine national, Gelienor “Jimmy” Pacheco, on Friday.

He had been working as a caregiver in Israel when he was taken hostage on October 7, according to Avishay Ben Zvi, the son of the man Pacheco had been caring for.

Zvi’s father, Amitai, was killed in the Hamas attack on his kibbutz. Speaking to CNN, Zvi said Pacheco was doing “better than expected.”

“They’re going to do some medical tests and emotional tests and treatment, but yes, most likely he will go to meet his family,” Zvi said.

The whereabouts of one other Philippine citizen held hostage, Noralyn Babadilla, remain unknown. 

An Israeli helicopter with released hostages lands at Tel Aviv's Schneider medical centre on November 24.

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the room” when five hostages were reunited with their families, Israel’s chief nurse Dr. Shoshy Goldberg said at a news conference at Wolfson Medical Center near Tel Aviv.

The five elderly women were received in a specially prepared complex for them and their families. The reunions as a “very emotional and exciting event,” Goldberg said Friday.

Videos provided by the hospital showed people cheering as ambulances carrying three of the women transported them from a helicopter.

Released Palestinian prisoners arrive to Beitunia, west of Ramallah, with International Red Cross vehicles under the agreement on the four-day humanitarian pause in Ramallah, West Bank on November 24.

Palestinians released from Israeli prisons were met with celebrations on Friday evening as they returned to their hometowns and villages in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

In videos obtained by CNN, the released prisoners can be seen paraded through the streets, carried on people’s shoulders as crowds wave the Palestinian flag, as well as that of Hamas.

Thirty-nine people were released Friday under the deal between Israel and Hamas, which also saw the release of 24 hostages from Gaza, and the start of a four-day truce in the enclave. 

Twenty-two women were among those released, as well as two girls. Fifteen teenage boys up to the age of 18 were also released — the youngest age 14. 

What they were imprisoned for: There are few more sensitive issues for Palestinians in the occupied territories than the issue of prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Some are serving sentences for attacks on Israelis, while many others are being held in administrative detention, a widely criticized practice that sees people held without knowing the charges against them, and without any legal process.

Aseel El-Titi, a 23-year-old prisoner released on Friday, told CNN she had only found out that morning she was being released. But, she said, her joy was tempered by the knowledge of what was happening in Gaza.

“Despite this, the Palestinian people are steadfast, and Hamas is trying to release all the prisoners and end the occupation,” she said. 

Wael Ahmad, a bystander at the Beitunia crossing in the occupied West Bank, where the prisoners were driven after their release, told CNN he also found it hard to celebrate when so many had been killed in Gaza.

More releases to come: The agreement struck between Israel and Hamas will see three more days of prisoner releases.

For Hamas, securing the freedom of an expected 150 incarcerated Palestinians represents an opportunity to burnish its credentials in the West Bank as the flagbearer of Palestinian resistance.

The Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces have received the second list of Israeli hostages due to be released on Saturday as part of the framework agreed with Hamas, the office of Israel’s prime minister wrote in a statement on Friday.

Security officials are reviewing the list of names, the statement read. An Israeli source told CNN there are children on the list of hostages expected to be released on Saturday.

Israel’s Hostage Coordinator Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch has given the information to the families of the hostages, the statement added.  

The list will not be released to the public until the hostages are safely in Israeli hands.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.

Eleven foreign nationals — 10 men and one woman — freed by Hamas in Gaza are spending the night at Shamir-Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The medical center is located in the Israeli town of Beer Yaakov, southeast of Tel Aviv,

The 10 Thai citizens and one Philippine citizen will remain at the hospital until medical examinations are complete, the ministry said in a statement.

“We’re very glad and proud to take a part in this effort,” the doctor said.

The Israeli military is warning that the implementation of the hostage release agreement will be complicated and “nothing is over until it’s over.”  

“The days ahead of us will be complicated, nothing is over until it’s over. We should be prepared,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Friday.

He said the freeing of 24 hostages from Gaza, including 13 Israeli citizens, is “a great relief,” but “our hearts are with the hostages that are still being held in Gaza.”

The agreement, accompanied by a four-day truce between Hamas and Israel that began on Friday morning, represents the first major diplomatic breakthrough in the conflict.

Asked about the possibility that senior Hamas officials might attempt to flee Gaza during the truce, Hagari said, “We’re monitoring everything necessary, and are monitoring senior Hamas officials, in Gaza and anywhere in the world.”

International Red Cross vehicles transport freed hostages through the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on November 24.

Twenty-four people held hostage for nearly seven weeks in the Gaza Strip were released Friday as part of a truce brokered between Israel and Hamas, according to officials.

The group includes 10 Thai citizens, 13 Israelis and one Philippine citizen, according to Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari. They are now in Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said Friday. 

In addition, 39 Palestinian women and teenagers were freed from Israeli jails and were on their way to the West Bank.

A total of 50 hostages could be freed over the four-day pause in fighting, while Palestinian prisoners are also due to be released in waves. 

The pause and releases followed weeks of tense negotiations – and took several agonizing days to come into effect. The agreement represents the first major diplomatic breakthrough in the conflict.

Here’s what else you know about Friday’s developments:

Released Palestinian prisoner Marah Bkeer embraces her family near her home in Jerusalem after being released in the hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel on November 24.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland welcomed the implementation of the hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“I also welcome the release of a number of foreign workers held in Gaza. I look forward to additional releases expected over the coming days,” Wennesland added.

Israel and Hamas reached a deal for a four-day pause in fighting and the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza that began on Friday. The Israel Prison Service announced on Friday night that 39 Palestinian prisoners were released as part of the hostage agreement

Wennesland said the pause in fighting “went into effect with relative calm, allowing truckloads of aid to go into Gaza.”

“These developments are a significant humanitarian breakthrough that we need to build on,” according to Wennesland.

Earlier Friday, the UN said 137 trucks of humanitarian aid were driven into the Gaza Strip, marking the largest aid convoy that has moved into the enclave since October 7. 

Wennesland also called for the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others in Gaza.