Israel-Palestine conflict: More hostages expected to be released

• More hostages slated for release by Hamas on Saturday, as truce holds

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says all hostages must be released unconditionally

• Two dozen hostages were freed on Friday, the first day of the four-day truce

Israel receives list of second batch of hostages to be freed by Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it has received a second list of hostages to be released by Hamas on Saturday, 25 November.

Netanyahu’s office says it has notified the families of hostages set for release.

This would be the second batch after 24 hostages were released on Friday by Hamas under a four-day truce with Israel in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Friday.

During the four-day truce, which also includes a pause in fighting that formally went into effect Friday morning, about 50 hostages are set to be released in total by the militant Islamist group Hamas.

Israel said it would release 150 Palestinian prisoners over the course of the truce, but would resume fighting after the cease-fire expires.

Hamas has been designated by EU, US and Israel among others as a terrorist organization.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the first batch of hostages had undergone medical tests and were in "good condition."

The Israeli hostages released in the first batch were taken to three Israeli hospitals for observation. They include nine women and four children aged nine and under.

The Schneider Children’s Medical Center said it was treating eight Israelis — four children and four women — and that all appeared to be in good physical condition.

More than 150 people evacuated from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, WHO says

About 151 patients, relatives and health workers from the al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza were moved to hospitals in southern Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

"This was a high-risk mission, as intense fighting and shelling continued in proximity of Al-Shifa hospital," the WHO wrote, saying patients were evacuated on November 22, that is before the temporary pause in fighting went into effect.

It took 20 hours for the team to complete the evacuation, including 6 hours at a checkpoint where the team and patients were screened by the Israel Defense Forces, according to the WHO team.

"Three medical personnel from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and three from the Ministry of Health were detained" at the checkpoint, the WHO said.

Nearly 1 million Palestinians have fled the north, including its urban center, Gaza City, as ground combat intensified. Scarce food, water and fuel has also spawned a humanitarian crisis in southern Gaza.

Around 13,000 have died in the Gaza Strip since the latest Israeli war against Hamas militants in Gaza began, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Although the US and Israel have cast doubt on these death toll figures, UN official Philippe Lazzarini said last month these numbers provided by Gaza health authorities were considered as credible during previous wars in Gaza and were not challenged.

About half of all buildings across northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to an analysis of satellite data, and most hospitals across the strip have been knocked out of operation. The UN estimates 1.7 million people are newly homeless.

With the pause in fighting, increased supplies of food, water and medicine promised under the deal began rolling into Gaza, offering temporary relief for some 2.3 million people in the strip.

Israel's offensive against Gaza was launched after Hamas carried out terror attacks on Israeli soil on October 7. These attacks left around 1,200 people dead in Israel, with Hamas also taking around 240 people hostage.

Germany's Scholz urges unconditional release of all hostages

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the unconditional release of all hostages after expressing appreciation for the tireless diplomacy that it took to release the first batch of hostages held by Hamas militants on Friday.

"It is good news that a first group of hostages has finally been released. We can hardly fathom what they and their families have had to go through over the last few weeks. (1/2)," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"This is the result of tireless diplomacy — our thanks goes to all those who have worked for this. Today can only be a start. Hamas must release all hostages unconditionally!" he said.

Of the 24 hostages that were released by Hamas militants on Friday, four were German-Israeli dual nationals.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock similarly said she was immensely relieved to hear of the news and expressed herthanks to Qatar, which helped broker the four-day truce under which 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be released.

Hamas militants broke into southern Israel on October 7 and killed some 1,200 people. Hamas also took some 240 hostages from Israel during the terror attacks, holding them captive in Gaza.

Qatar, a long-established mediator in the region, then reached out to the US to work on negotiations to release hostages.

After weeks of diplomacy by Qatar and Egypt, and the White House, a deal was agreed by the US, Israel and Hamas to secure the release of 50 hostages.