Hamas releases two more hostages as British daughter flies to Israel

Published

2 years ago

October 24, 2023

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Hamas has released two more hostages, with the British daughter of one of the women flying to Israel and saying she’s relieved beyond words.

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, were taken to the Rafah crossing into Egypt and put into ambulances.

Hamas said it released them on humanitarian and “poor health grounds”, but their husbands are still being held prisoner.

Israel-Gaza war – latest updates

The group released images of masked gunmen giving the women food and drink and leading them to the handover point, where Red Cross workers met them.

More than 200 people were kidnapped during the Hamas attack but only four have been freed – the other two being a US mother and daughter last week.

Sharone Lifschitz, who lives in London, confirmed her mother was released on Monday evening and is flying out to meet her.

“While I cannot put into words the relief that she is now safe, I will remain focused on securing the release of my father and all those, some 200 innocent people, who remain hostages in Gaza,” she said.

The two women and their husbands – aged 83 and 84 – were snatched from their homes in Nir Oz, near the Gaza border, as Hamas began its massacre.

Ms Lifschitz told Times Radio her parents had complex health needs and that her father, Oded, had high blood pressure the night before the attack.

The grandson of Yocheved Lifshitz said his grandparents had spent years helping sick Gazans.

“They are human rights activists, peace activists for all their life,” said Daniel Lifshitz.

“For more than a decade, they took… sick Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, not from the West Bank, from the Gaza Strip every week from the Erez border to the hospitals in Israel to get treatment for their disease, for cancer, for anything.”

With many hostages still held prisoner, the US is understood to have asked Israel to delay its ground invasion so more can be freed.

A senior Hamas leader told Sky News all civilians among the hostages would be released if Israel reduced the intensity of bombing Gaza.

“We want to stop the random bombardments, the total destruction, the genocide so that the al Qassam soldiers can take them from their places and hand them to the Red Cross or whoever,” said Khaled Meshaal.

“We need the right conditions to allow them to be released.”

Israeli tanks and thousands of troops have been waiting for days for the order to attack – a moved that’s likely to significantly increase casualties on both sides.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant told troops on Monday “it will come” and to keep preparing.

He said the attack would be from land, air and sea but gave no timeframe.

More than 5,000 Palestinians have now been killed and 15,000 wounded in Israeli airstrikes, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

On Monday, it said more more than 400 had died in just the last 24 hours.

Hospitals are at breaking point, with vital supplies like anaesthetic running out and fears electricity generators could run out and halt lifesaving equipment like baby incubators.

Israel insists it takes great care not to injure civilians and that its only aim is to destroy Hamas – which runs the Gaza Strip.

Israel has urged people to move from northern Gaza but hundreds of thousands remain.

The aerial bombardment and blockade has also caused food and water to run perilously low in the densely-packed territory of 2.3 million.

On Monday, a third aid convoy of 20 trucks was able to enter from Egypt but aid agencies have warned it’s a fraction of what’s needed.

Despite the worsening humanitarian situation, President Biden said talk of a ceasefire-for-hostage deal was premature.

“We should have those hostages released and then we can talk,” he told reporters on Monday.

The UN Security Council is, however, expected to vote on a resolution today calling for “humanitarian pauses” in order to allow aid into Gaza.

There has been a slew of diplomatic visits to Israel in recent days as fears grow that the war could spread.

The latest to visit and meet Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday will be France’s President Macron, following the Dutch leader’s visit on Monday.

The 7 October terror attack – described by some as Israel’s 9/11 – saw more than 1,400 people murdered in their homes, on the streets and at a music festival.

Graphic bodycam, phone and CCTV were played to journalists yesterday, one showed a Hamas militant throwing a hand grenade at a man trying to escape with his two young sons.

The father is killed while the boys are left injured and bleeding, one asking: “Daddy is dead… Why am I alive?… I want my mum.”

Another shows Hamas breaking into communities, moving to different houses, killing residents and even pets – while a dashcam clip appears to show fighters shooting and killing civilians on the road.

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This flimsy vessel carrying migrants could be hours away from reaching British waters

Published

2 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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This flimsy vessel carrying migrants could be hours away from reaching British waters

We see the boat from a distance – the orange of the life jackets reflected in the rising sun.

And as we draw closer, we can make out dozens of people crowded on board as it sets off from the shore, from a beach near Dunkirk.

There is no sign of any police activity on the shore, and there are no police vessels in the water.

Instead, the migrants crammed into an inflatable dinghy are being watched by us, on board a private boat, and the looming figure of the Minck, a French search and rescue ship that soon arrives.

The dinghy meanders. It’s not heading towards Britain but rather hugging the coast.

A few of the passengers wave at us cheerfully, but then the boat starts to head back towards the shore.

As it nears a different beach, we see a police vehicle – a dune buggy – heading down to meet it.

Normal practice is for French police officers to slice through the material of any of these small boats that end up back on shore.

Two police officers get out of the buggy and wait. A police helicopter arrives and circles above, performing a tight circle over the heads of the migrants.

The police think they might be about to go back on to the beach; in fact, these passengers know that most of them are staying put.

The boat stops a short distance from the shore and four people jump out. As they wade towards the beach, the boat turns and starts to head back out to sea.

We see the two police officers approach these four men and have a brief conversation.

They don’t appear to check the bags they are carrying and, if they do question them about why they left the boat, it is the most cursory of conversations.

In reality, these people probably don’t speak French but they were almost certainly involved in arranging this crossing, which is against the law. But all four walk away, disappearing into the dunes at the back of the beach.

We follow the boat as it chugs off in the direction of Britain, carrying around 50 people.

The Minck returns to shadowing its progress, but its job is limited to offering help if the boat gets into trouble.

Otherwise, if the engine keeps working, then this flimsy vessel will reach British waters in a few hours’ time.

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IDF chief says conditions ‘created’ for Gaza ceasefire – as Trump says it could be ‘this week or next’

Published

18 hours ago

July 9, 2025

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IDF chief says conditions 'created' for Gaza ceasefire - as Trump says it could be 'this week or next'

Donald Trump and a leading figure in the Israeli army have suggested a ceasefire in Gaza could be close.

Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), told Israeli media that “conditions were created to advance a deal” to bring about an end to the conflict in the coastal territory, and the release of hostages.

In a televised address, he said: “We have achieved many significant results, we have caused great damage to the governance and military capabilities of Hamas.

“Thanks to the operational power that we have demonstrated, the conditions have been created to advance a deal to release the hostages.”

‘This week, or next’

It comes as the US president hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC on a prolonged visit this week.

Mr Trump said his meetings with Mr Netanyahu were focused “on Gaza for the most part”.

He said: “I think we have a chance [of a ceasefire] this week, or next week.”

However, the US leader added: “Not definitely,” saying nothing was certain about the situation in Gaza.

Hamas reiterates ‘keenness’ to end fighting

Meanwhile, Hamas has repeated its message that it is committed to the negotiations but warned of a number of sticking points despite the positive noises from senior Israeli figures.

In a statement, the militant group said: “In its keenness to succeed in the ongoing efforts, the movement [Hamas] has shown the necessary flexibility and agreed to release 10 prisoners.

“The key points remain under negotiation, foremost among them: the flow of aid, the withdrawal of the occupation from the territories of the Gaza Strip, and the provision of real guarantees for a permanent ceasefire.”

Mr Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff previously told a cabinet meeting that the anticipated ceasefire would last 60 days and involve the release of ten hostages and nine bodies.

A source close to the negotiations told Sky News that the hostage release would take place in two waves during the 60 days and was conditional on the ceasefire.

Israeli strikes continue

It comes as Israeli attacks on Gaza continue.

According to hospital officials, at least 40 Palestinians were killed in the latest attacks on Gaza – including 10 people from the same family.

Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis said the dead included 17 women and 10 children.

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Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?

Published

1 day ago

July 9, 2025

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Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?

While the politicians talk, so many people come from around the world to try to get across the Channel on small boats. But why?

Why make such a perilous crossing to try to get to a country that seems to be getting increasingly hostile to asylum seekers?

As the British and French leaders meet, with small boats at the forefront of their agenda, we came to northern France to get some answers.

It is not a new question, but it is peppered with fresh relevance.

Over the course of a morning spent around a migrant camp in Dunkirk, we meet migrants from Gaza, Iraq, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and beyond.

Some are fearful, waving us away; some are happy to talk. Very few are comfortable to be filmed.

All but one man – who says he’s come to the wrong place and actually wants to claim asylum in Paris – are intent on reaching Britain.

They see the calm seas, feel the light winds – perfect conditions for small boat crossings.

John has come here from South Sudan. He tells me he’s now 18 years old. He left his war-torn home nation just before his 16th birthday. He feels that reaching Britain is his destiny.

“England is my dream country,” he says. “It has been my dream since I was at school. It’s the country that colonised us and when I get there, I will feel like I am home.

“In England, they can give me an opportunity to succeed or to do whatever I need to do in my life. I feel like I am an English child, who was born in Africa.”

He says he would like to make a career in England, either as a journalist or in human resources, and, like many others we meet, is at pains to insist he will work hard.

The boat crossing is waved away as little more than an inconvenience – a trifle compared with the previous hardships of his journey towards Britain.

We meet a group of men who have all travelled from Gaza, intent on starting new lives in Britain and then bringing their families over to join them.

One man, who left Gaza two years ago, tells me that his son has since been shot in the leg “but there is no hospital for him to go to”.

Next to him, a man called Abdullah says he entered Europe through Greece and stayed there for months on end, but was told the Greek authorities would never allow him to bring over his family.

Britain, he thinks, will be more accommodating. “Gaza is being destroyed – we need help,” he says.

A man from Eritrea tells us he is escaping a failing country and has friends in Britain – he plans to become a bicycle courier in either London or Manchester.

He can’t stay in France, he says, because he doesn’t speak French. The English language is presented as a huge draw for many of the people we talk to, just as it had been during similar conversations over the course of many years.

I ask many of these people why they don’t want to stay in France, or another safe European country.

Some repeat that they cannot speak the language and feel ostracised. Another says that he tried, and failed, to get a residency permit in both France and Belgium.

But this is also, clearly, a flawed survey. Last year, five times as many people sought asylum in France as in Britain.

And French critics have long insisted that Britain, a country without a European-style ID card system, makes itself attractive to migrants who can “disappear”.

A young man from Iraq, with absolutely perfect English, comes for a chat. He oozes confidence and a certain amount of mischief.

It has taken him only seven days to get from Iraq to Dunkirk; when I ask how he has made the trip so quickly, he shrugs. “Money talks”.

He looks around him. “Let me tell you – all of these people you see around you will be getting to Britain and the first job they get will be in the black market, so they won’t be paying any tax.

“Back in the day in Britain, they used to welcome immigrants very well, but these days I don’t think they want to, because there’s too many of them coming by boat. Every day it’s about seven or 800 people. That’s too many people.”

“But,” I ask, “if those people are a problem – then what makes you different? Aren’t you a problem too?”

He shakes his head emphatically. “I know that I’m a very good guy. And I won’t be a problem. I’ll only stay in Britain for a few years and then I’ll leave again.”

A man from Sri Lanka says he “will feel safe” when he gets to Britain; a tall, smiling man from Ethiopia echoes the sentiment: “We are not safe in our home country so we have come all this way,” he says. “We want to work, to be part of Britain.”

Emmanuel is another from South Sudan – thoughtful and eloquent. He left his country five years ago – “at the start of COVID” – and has not seen his children in all that time. His aim is to start a new life in Britain, and then to bring his family to join him.

He is a trained electrical engineer, but says he could also work as a lorry driver. He is adamant that Britain has a responsibility to the people of its former colony.