Israel-Gaza hostages – latest: More hostages to be released during second day of temporary ceasefire

A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire has come under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defence official said.

The attack on the CMA CGM Symi comes as global shipping increasingly finds itself targeted in the war that threatens to become a wider regional conflict - even as a truce has halted fighting and Hamas exchanges hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The US defence official said the Malta-flagged vessel was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters.

The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the official said.

The official declined to explain why the US military believe Iran was behind the attack.

A four-day ceasefire in Gaza set to begin on Friday will allow for the release of 50 hostages, the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid, and a brief respite from the relentless bombardment of the densely populated territory for more than two million civilians.

But what happens when it ends?

The short answer is that the war will continue, and it may be even bloodier than before. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it bluntly on Wednesday during a live address about the hostage deal. “The war continues,” he said. “We continue until we have achieved complete victory.”

Richard Hall and Bel Trew have the details.

Eight women and children returned to Israel last night after being held hostage by Hamas for 49 days were assessed as being in “good physical condition”.

Dr. Efrat Bron-Harlev, CEO of Schneider Children’s Medical Center, said the four children, three mothers and one grandmother are “undergoing medical and emotional assessment by the medical and psychosocial teams” but that their physical signs were strong.

“There are not enough words to express the emotion that we are feeling at this time together with the families and the entire nation of Israel,” Dr Bron-Harlev said.

“We will do our utmost to care for the physical and emotional health of the returned hostages. From our perspective, this is a national mission, and we are proud to have the privilege to treat them.

“Our hearts are with the other captives who are still in Gaza, and their families, and we hope that they will return to us, whole and healthy, in the very near future.”

Yoni Asher is among the Israeli citizens whose family members have been freed as part of the opening stages of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

Last month, he sat down with The Independent to tell his story to Bel Trew.

Nearly 200 aid trucks arrived in Gaza yesterday through the Egyptian Rafah crossing, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has reported.

This amounts to a significant uptick in aid over a 24-hour period, though it is under the 200-300 truck per day agreement expected for the temporary truce.

It is also still considerably below the pre 7 October average of aid supplies, where it was usual to see 500 trucks a day entering Gaza.

“On the morning of 7 October, my daughter Emily was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists,” her father Thomas Hand writes for Independent Voices.

“She was eight years old when she was taken, and turned nine just a few days ago. Down in the tunnels of Gaza, with no way to track the passage of time, she probably didn’t even know it was her birthday.”

Read more about Emily’s story.

As millions of Americans gathered for turkey and pumpkin pie, one New York family was desperately missing their 19-year-old son, who is still being held hostage by Hamas.

“Today is Thanksgiving. As Americans we have an empty seat at the table — you do not want to live in my universe,” his father Ruby Chen told The Independent.

More details in our full story.

Americans, including both civilians and personnel in the Israeli defence forces, are currently being held hostage by Hamas.

Here are some of their stories, including a father whose son was violently taken from kibbutz Nir Oz.

Thirteen Israeli hostages will be released from Gaza today at the start of a four-day truce that Qatar called a “catalyst for long-term peace” and a “glimmer of light at the end of tunnel”.

Under the terms of the breakthrough deal, brokered by Doha and Washington, Hamas militants will free 50 women and children they abducted in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and teenagers from Israeli prisons.

The agreement, secured after weeks of fraught negotiations, also allows for the pause in hostilities to be extended daily provided more hostages are released.

Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry, told The Independent the world must use the “momentum” from the truce to end the bloodshed.

Bel Trew reports.