Israel-Hamas war: 12 more hostages released by Hamas

Hamas released 12 more hostages Tuesday in exchange for the release of 30 Palestinian civilians being held in Israeli prisons.

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The hostages released include 10 citizens of Israel and two Thai nationals, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office. Officials confirmed the names of the Israelis released:

• Ditza Heiman, 84
• Tamar Metzger, 78
• Ofelia Adit Roitman, 77
• Ada Sagi, 75
• Noralin Babadila, 60
• Meirav Tal, 53
• Rimon Kirsht, 36
• Gabriela Leimberg, 59
• Mia Leimberg, 17
• Clara Marman, 63

Majed Al Ansari, spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said in an earlier statement that those being released from Gaza included one citizen of Austria, two Argentinians and a Filipina.

The Palestinians being released include 15 children and 15 women, he said.

The groups were being freed on the fifth day of a humanitarian truce in the weekslong war between Hamas and Israel. Since the ceasefire began Friday, Hamas has released 89 hostages in exchange for the release of 180 Palestinian civilians.

The war began Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack that killed about 1,200 people, according to NPR. During the assault, they took about 240 people hostage, about 150 of which remain captive as of Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

Thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict, although exact numbers remain unclear.