US president Joe Biden said that what Abigail Edan, who turned four while being held captive, had "endured was unthinkable".
Abigail's parents were among the 1,200 people killed in the Hamas attack inside southern Israel on 7 October. Israel has responded with a ferocious aerial and ground assault on Hamas-controlled Gaza in which Palestinian health officials say around 14,000 people have been killed, with the current four-day ceasefire the first respite from the bombardment for residents.
Ella Mor, Abigail's aunt, said that the family are "very emotional" and that they wanted to say "thank you to the whole country for supporting, loving and embracing us and her".
The ceasefire was agreed to enable the release of at least 50 of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas into Gaza in exchange for 150 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. This third group of hostages included 14 Israelis, Abigail among them, and three Thai nationals. The Israelis were: the Brodetz family - Hagar Brodetz (40), Ofri Brodetz (10), Yuval Brodetz (8) and Uriah Brodetz (4); the Goldstein-Almog family - Chen Goldstein Almog (48), Agam Goldstein Almog (17), Gal Goldstein Almog (11), Tal Goldstein Almog (8); and the Elykaim family: Dafna Elykaim (15) Ella Elykaim (8); Elma Avraham (84) and Aviva Adrian Siegel (62).
Ron Karibu, a 25-year-old Russian-Israeli citizen, was not released under the main truce deal, which involves women and children, but "in response to the efforts of Russian president Vladimir Putin", Hamas said.
This story is from the November 27, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 27, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Champion Humphries eases through to last 16
World number one Luke Humphries continued his bid for back-to-back World Championship titles after easing through to the last 16 last night.
Contract conundrum won't distract Reds' title charge
New year, new context. Liverpool will enter 2025 top of the Premier League, a year of seismic change that could have sent them spiralling downwards instead sees them ending on a high.
Gunners edge victory against battling Ipswich
Arsenal moved into second place in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Ipswich at the Emirates.
'They are erasing us. They are erasing our history'
Indie filmmaker Arfat Sheikh was increasingly frustrated by mainstream cinema’s depiction of Kashmir and its people so he decided to make his own. Maroosha Muzaffar reports
South Korea’s MPs vote to impeach acting president
South Korea's parliament impeached acting president Han Duck Soo yesterday, just two weeks after similarly punishing president Yoon Suk Yeol for briefly declaring martial law earlier this month.
Russian air defence 'likely' behind crash that killed 38
The deadly Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan was likely caused by a Russian air defence system, military and aviation experts have said.
'We cannot wait for peace before beginning to rebuild'
As fears mount for Ukraine's future in light of the re-election of Trump, Tom Watling speaks to politicians, military experts and aid workers to discover what the coming year could hold
Quad bike crash leaves girl with life-changing injuries
A child has been left with life-changing injuries after the quad bike she was riding on crashed into a telegraph pole outside a high-street pub on Boxing Day.
Christmas travel chaos as fog causes mass flight delays
Airline passengers hoping to jet off ahead of the New Year were hit by severe delays, as thick fog caused chaos at the UK's busiest airports.
Snow could sweep through UK as new year approaches
Britons are bracing for snowfall and a sharp drop in temperatures, which are set to fall to -2C on New Year's Eve in some places.
