Former hostages in Israeli custody

Former hostages Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper have been handed over to the Israel Defense Forces custody. They are making their way to a hospital in Israel especially set up for them, where they will be reunited with their families, the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement.

The statement thanks Egypt “for its help” and the Red Cross “for its important life-saving role,” and indicates that the Israeli military also played a role in their release.

“The IDF and security forces did much work in the last days via all channels to bring about their release and overcome the many obstacles raised by Hamas,” the statement says.