Key Resources From Jewish Federations

• Join a JDC Webinar, focusing on the organization’s efforts to respond to the current crisis: Wednesday, November 29th at noon (ET). Register here.
• Arab and Jewish Israelis joint responses: Join this webinar to hear from Shira Ohana and Hanan Alsanah about inspiring joint emergency responses from the earliest days of the war, and what they are doing today to preserve a shared future for all residents of the Negev. November 28, 12 noon ET. Register here.
• Additional resources can be found at the end of this update.

 Hostage Release

• As part of a deal negotiated by Qatar (with assistance from the United States and Egypt) 39 Israeli hostages have now been released from Hamas captivity and have been reunited with their families in Israel, in three separate groups, over the last three days.
• The hostages set free have mainly been young children, their mothers, and elderly women. In addition, one young man with dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, Roni Krivoi, was released as a gesture to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Krivoi initially managed to escape from Hamas and hide in Gaza for four days before being recaptured. Krivoi had initially been held in a building that ended up collapsing as a result of IDF airstrikes and then managed to make it out and flee. He then hid alone for several days, but Gazan residents captured him and returned him to Hamas.
• As well as the Israeli hostages, some 18 foreign laborers, mainly from Thailand, have also been released, while 15 more Thai workers remain captive.
• An additional set of 11 hostages may be released later today.
• In exchange for those let out, Israel has released 117 terrorists from prison and granted a four-day ceasefire. Those released were all women and under-18 minors, many serving sentences for attempted murder, stabbings, and other terror attacks.
• If Hamas agrees to release additional prisoners, Israel will let out three imprisoned terrorists for every hostage, as well as grant an additional day of ceasefire for every 10 hostages let go.
• While each release has been received with immense joy; celebrations are often bittersweet. Almost all of the hostages still have immediate family members being held in Gaza, and most have come out to discover that loved ones had been killed on October 7.
• Despite the hostage deal stipulating that minors would be released together with their mothers, Hila Rotem, 13 years old, returned Saturday night from captivity alone. She told Israeli media today that her mother was present with her during the entire period of captivity, except for the last two days. “Hamas separated us two days before the liberation,” she said.
• Most hostages have been released in reasonable health, although many had lost considerable weight. See emerging details on their conditions in captivity.
• Nonetheless, one of the hostages, 84-year-old Elma Avraham, was returned in critical condition and is now fighting for her life in Beer Sheba’s Soroka hospital. Her family says that she was not given critical medications during her captivity and was mistreated.
• Israel has said that the last-minute confusion, stalling, misinformation and uncertainty surrounding each release is a psychological warfare tactic being used by Hamas.
• See more in “Stories,” below.
• A new opinion poll shows that the majority of Israelis see the release of the hostages as the number one goal of the war, followed by toppling Hamas.

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