Hamas releases Dutch-Israeli hostage Ofir Engel and others: Updates and details on the release

Nov 29, 2023 at 10:29 PM Update: 14 minutes ago

Hamas released Dutch-Israeli hostage Ofir Engel on Wednesday. As far as we know, eighteen-year-old Engel was the only Dutch person stuck in the Gaza Strip.

The Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI) also reports that Engel is part of the group of hostages that were handed over to the Red Cross on Wednesday. His sixteen-year-old neighbor boy was also said to have been released.

Engel was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas on October 7. In an attempt to speed up his release, he was granted Dutch nationality through an emergency procedure. The boy’s grandfather, 77-year-old Jucha Engel, has a Dutch mother. After the kidnapping, he contacted the Dutch embassy in Israel.

“This is a very good evening,” says Engel’s grandfather. “I haven’t seen him yet, but heard that he can walk on his own. I hope he is healthy.”

Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot are happy that Engel has been released by Hamas. “After this horrible time, he can now finally be reunited with his family and friends,” Rutte writes on X. Engel was the only Dutch person detained in the Gaza Strip.

Rutte thanks Qatar, Egypt and the United States “for their crucial role” in the release of the hostages. “We have made every effort to achieve this through all diplomatic channels in recent weeks,” said Minister Bruins Slot.

Sixth and last time that Hamas releases hostages

The Israeli army confirms that fourteen people are on their way to Israel. In addition to ten Israeli hostages, five of whom have dual nationality, four Thai nationals have also been released.

Earlier in the day, two Israeli-Russian hostages had already been handed over to the Red Cross.

It is the sixth and last time that Hamas has released hostages. The temporary truce expires early Thursday morning and the two sides have not yet agreed on an extension.

In exchange for the hostages, Israel must release another group of 30 Palestinian prisoners. In recent days, 180 Palestinians have already been released. Including the last fourteen people, Hamas has released 102 hostages.

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2023-11-29 21:29:31
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