The News Not Noise Letter: Has Hamas “Lost” Hostages?
More than 40 hostages may be held by other groups in Gaza. Plus: three Palestinian students shot in Vermont, and a look at the allegations against the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel.
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Today was going to be the last day of the hostage-for-prisoner swap, then Qatari officials flew to Gaza and the pause was extended. Hamas says they’ve lost track of more than 40 hostages in Gaza. Lots of you are asking about the Palestinian prisoners who were released: what were they held for and why? We break it down, here. And, more information on the three Palestinian college students who were shot in Vermont.
Here are the headlines:
Truce Extended: Qatari officials announced that the humanitarian pause between Israel and Hamas will last for another two days (through Thursday morning Israel time) under the same conditions. Those call for the daily release of at least 10 Israeli hostages and at least 30 Palestinian prisoners, and the continued supply of humanitarian aid through the Rafah Crossing. In the next phase, Hamas is reportedly open to releasing soldiers taken hostage – not just women and children. The US and Qatar continue to push for an even longer extension of the pause.
“Lost” Hostages: Qatar says 40 Israeli hostages in Gaza are “unaccounted for” by Hamas, and that officials may “never be able to reach them.” For its part, Hamas says it has located some of the “missing”. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, “the second-largest militant group in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” says it’s holding over 30 hostages and will not free them under the current deal; they demand Israel free all the Palestinians in Isreal’s prisons. In reality, Hamas could ensure the release of hostages held by the PIJ; the PIJ is funded by Hamas and by Iran (Hamas’ sponsor). In addition, the Israeli military claims that Hamas transferred hostages to “other terrorist groups” in Gaza. Among those believed to be transferred? 10-month-old Kfir Bibas and 4-year-old Ariel Bibas. Their parents are also in captivity but it’s unclear if the kids and parents are separated. This transfer of hostages is viewed as a Hamas strategy to extract more concessions in negotiations.
Israeli Hostages Released Monday: Eleven hostages were released Monday, including two women and nine children ranging from ages 3-18.
Humanitarian Aid: 200 aid trucks arrived in the Gaza Strip Monday bringing the total to about 800 since Friday.
Palestinian Prisoners Released: I continue to receive DMs from people stating that the Palestinians freed from Israel’s military prison were held for no reason. I was initially unable to find an English-language source detailing the reason each of the Palestinian prisoners was held. Then we tracked down the information.
News Not Noise obtained lists of the prisoners released in the first three swaps including their gender, age, organizational affiliation, and the offenses for which they were held. The lists document 117 prisoners released between Nov. 24-26.
Of these prisoners, 90 were held for serious offenses including “premeditated attempted murder,” “attempted murder,” “placing an explosive device,” “possession of weapons/explosives/ ammunition,” “assaulting a police officer,” “throwing Molotovs,” “serious bodily harm,” “shooting at people,” and “throwing a bomb.”
Some of the offenses listed were more vague: 17 people were held with “damage to the security area” as their only offense; 4 with “state security” as their only offense; 5 with “supporting terrorism” as their only offense; and 1 with “illegal activities” as her only offense. 12 of the 27 people held on these vague offenses are listed as affiliated with known terror organizations, including Hamas, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
71 of the prisoners are below the age of 18, 25 are 18 or older, and 1 person’s age was unlisted. We do not know how long they were held. These “offenses” may be unproven; we share them to add information/context to the discussion about administrative detention. The full list is at the bottom of this newsletter behind the paywall.
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Historic Qatari Visit: Over the weekend, Qatari officials made history by visiting Israel for the first time. Qatar does not have diplomatic relations with Israel so to make the trip, the Qatari business jet stopped in Cyprus first (Cyprus does have diplomatic relations with Israel). The Qatari delegation met with Mossad (Israeli intelligence agency) in Tel Aviv then went to Gaza, where they met with Al Jazeera bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh, who lost his family in an Israeli airstrike. Many of Hamas’ senior leaders live in Qatar and an in-person visit would be one way for Qatari negotiators to have direct conversations about an extended truce with the leadership in Gaza.
A Note About the Media: There is video of Al Jazeera bureau chief Al-Dahdouh embracing a Qatari government official in Gaza. It’s a reminder that, though Al Jazeera claims editorial independence, it is state-owned media. I keep this in mind when I watch and read information from Al Jazeera.
Biden Responds to the Extension: Today President Biden made a point of saying the US has been “the largest funder of humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people” for many years and that the pause in hostilities has allowed “a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance” to Gaza. The President took credit for personally working the phones for weeks to get this pause to happen and thanked the leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt for work on these negotiations. To date, 4-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Edan is the only American hostage freed by Hamas. The White House expressed hope that Hamas will release more of the 9 Americans believed to still be held in Gaza.
Palestinian Students Shot in Vermont: A Burlington, Vermont man has pleaded “not guilty” to three counts of second-degree attempted murder after allegedly shooting three Palestinian college students Saturday. The victims are all still hospitalized with serious wounds. They were identified by their family members as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Aliahmad. Court documents revealed Awartani was shot in the spine, Abdalhamid was shot in the glute, and Aliahmad was shot in the chest. The three students grew up together in Ramallah, West Bank, attending the Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker K-12 school. They had been visiting Awartani’s grandmother the evening they were shot. Two were wearing keffiyehs (traditional Palestinian headscarves) and they were speaking in Arabic. The families of the victims released a joint statement calling for a “full investigation” and the “pursuit of hate crime charges.” CNN reports that law enforcement are investigating the possibility of a hate motive. Even without additional charges, the suspect already faces a potential life in prison. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says Islamophobic incidents have sharply increased since 10/7.
Awartani’s uncle spoke to the press, revealing more about Awartani’s current condition and decrying a culture of vitriol, gun violence, and hate. You can watch him here.
There is so much suffering in this conflict. We wanted to share with you videos of some of the emotional reunions.
Reunions:
Behind this paywall we offer more information about administrative detention. We also provide you the lists of all Palestinian prisoners released over the weekend along with their age and specific offenses.
