A total of eight captives — three Israelis and five Thai — are set to be freed today, Al Jazeera reports.
The Israelis are:
- Agam Berger, a 20-year-old military observer who was taken from Israel’s Nahal Oz base. She started her job at the base just two days before the October 7, 2023 attack.
- Arbel Yehoud, a 29-year-old civilian, was taken from her home in the Nir Oz settlement together with her partner. Israel estimates that she is the last living female civilian captive in the enclave. Yehoud’s release date became a point of dispute between Hamas and Israel, whose government argued that, as a civilian, she should have been released in the last captive exchange on January 25. To resolve the disagreement, a deal was reached for Yehoud’s expedited release today, two days ahead of Hamas’s originally planned schedule. In return, Israel agreed to open Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor earlier this week, allowing Palestinians to return to the north.
- Gadi Moshe Mozes, an 80-year-old farmer who was taken from his home in Nir Oz. His partner, Efrat Katz, was killed on October 7, 2023.
The names of the five Thai captives, among 32 total taken captive on October 7, have not been released.
