(1 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv - 1 March 2025
1. Various of relatives of hostages before statements
2. SOUNDBITE (Hebrew) Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker:
"Today, it is especially important to remember: There is a comprehensive agreement that the government signed. Today, its phase A ends. The second phase includes the return of all the kidnapped people and the end of the war. But Netanyahu violated the agreement and is not willing to discuss phase B. Instead of real negotiations, he issued a fake delegation with a fake proposal in order to sabotage the agreement and later blame Hamas. The crisis that is currently in the negotiations – this is a deliberate crisis that Netanyahu initiated and engineered."
3. Cutaway
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Yotam Cohen, brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen:
"We can get back every single hostage. There is a proposal that can be implemented tomorrow morning to put an end to the war and get everyone out in one step. But, Netanyahu is dragging us back into pointless war, bringing more deaths, and causing more hostages to be murdered in captivity. Netanyahu – There is no need to extend phase one. There is an immediate need to initiate phase two."
5. Cutaway
STORYLINE:
The relatives of Gaza hostages called for immediate completion of the second phase of the ceasefire deal during their weekly statements.
Hamas handed over the remains of four more Israeli hostages early Thursday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
They are the last four to be released during the first phase of the truce, which is set to end Saturday. Israel and Hamas have yet to negotiate the next phase, and dozens of hostages are still held in Gaza.
Hamas transferred the four bodies to the Red Cross early Thursday and they were brought back to Israel for forensic testing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed their identities and said that three of the four hostages were killed in captivity, without elaborating. The fourth was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and Hamas militants kidnapped the body, Netanyahu's office said.
Under the first phase of the truce, 25 Israeli hostages and the remains of eight others were handed over in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Five Thai citizens abducted while working in Israel on the day of the attack were freed last month in a separate deal.
Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages during their Oct. 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza. Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza, roughly half of whom are believed to be dead. The others were released in previous agreements, rescued, or their bodies were recovered.
Israel’s military campaign has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters but says more than half were women or children.
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