Day: December 2, 2023

JERUSALEM (AP) — A weeklong cease-fire that brought the exchanges of dozens of hostages held by Hamas for scores of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel gave way Friday morning to resumed fighting between Israel and Hamas. As mediators scuttle between the warring sides in a last-ditch effort to broker another swap, questions emerge on who remains in captivity in the besieged enclave.

Hamas and other militants seized around 247 hostages in their deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were killed. Israel has pummeled the Gaza Strip in return, killing at least 13,300 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled territory.

Here’s a closer look at the fate of the hostages.

HOSTAGES STILL IN CAPTIVITY

Israel said on Friday that 136 hostages remain in Gaza. They include 119 men and 17 women and children, according to military spokesperson Daniel Hagari. Roughly 10 of the hostages are 75 and older, the Prime Minister’s Office said Friday.

The vast majority are Israeli while 11 are foreign nationals, including eight from Thailand, one from Nepal and Tanzania each, and one French-Mexican.

Earlier, government spokesperson Eylon Levy listed the youngest hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, his 4-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shiri as still being among the hostages. The military has said it’s investigating a Hamas claim that the boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Hagari provided no information about the three.

Families of hostages who have not been released are still waiting in desperation, calling on the government to bring their loved ones home.

They hear reports from the families of recently freed hostages that conditions are difficult and worry their loved ones do not have sufficient food and water. They plead with the Red Cross to bring their relatives badly needed medicine. They agonize as mere crumbs of information about their relatives surface.

Sharone Lifschitz, whose mother was freed in October, heard this week that a returned hostage had seen her father, 83-year-old Oded Lifshitz, in captivity. Her father, who spells the family name differently, was last seen shot while militants carted him off to Gaza. 

She says the news was a “ray of light” but that she wonders if it’s still true.

“My father is ill, is frail. He needs medicine,” she said. “I don’t know how long he can survive in such harsh conditions.”

She said the return of women and children hostages has been bittersweet as their husbands and fathers remain in captivity. The idea that children would be able to recover from captivity while their fathers remain hostages was “unthinkable,” she added.

LITTLE INFO ON HOSTAGES WHO DIED IN CAPTIVITY

As the cease-fire waned, the military said Friday that four hostages were reported to have died in captivity, including the oldest person held hostage.

All the four, 56-year old Maya Goren, 86-year old Arye Zalmanovich, 54-year-old Ronan Engel, and 75-year-old Eliyahu Margalit, were from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The kibbutz was devastated in the attack, with roughly a quarter of its people killed or kidnapped.

On Thursday, the military announced the death of Ofir Tzarfati, another Israeli believed to have been held hostage. Two other hostages have died in Hamas captivity since Oct. 7, according to the military.

Officials have said little about how the deaths were determined but the army has said it has collected valuable information from the returned hostages.

Zalmanovich, a father of two and grandfather of five, was a founder of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a statement from the missing families group said. Goren was a mother of four and a kindergarten teacher for the kibbutz. Her husband was killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.

Engel, a father of three, was a photographer and volunteer paramedic whose wife and two daughters were released from Gaza this week, the group said.

The group did not immediately release information on Margalit.

GLIMPSES OF HOSTAGES RELEASED

During the cease-fire, some 110 hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza were returned to their families, Israel’s government said Friday. They include 86 Israeli citizens and 24 foreign nationals, most of them Thais.

The returnees have mostly appeared in stable health condition, able to walk and speak normally though many lost weight in captivity. One 84-year-old hostage returned in critical condition after not receiving proper medical care, doctors said. Another came back on crutches.

Families have greeted the return of their loved ones with joy and excitement, but doctors have warned of the psychological toll of captivity and say they face a long road to recovery.

There have been no in-depth stories of the hostages’ ordeal or captivity as the government has urged those released, their families and the media not to make public details of their time as prisoners to help ensure the safety of those still being held.

Published: 16:24 GMT, 2 November 2023 | Updated: 04:13 GMT, 12 November 2023

Political scientist Abbas Galyamov, in a conversation with Channel 24 , explained under what conditions the Kremlin dictator could lose his post. This process will differ from the classic “palace” coup.

See also: The elites will deal with Putin themselves: there are many in the Kremlin who want to change the system

There are two key conditions for Putin to lose his presidency. This could be a major breakthrough by the Ukrainian military at the front or another campaign similar to the one organized by Prigozhin.

“No one will actively play against Putin in the system. They will throw him in at any moment when they feel that he will lose. They (the “elites” – Channel 24) will not lay their bones for him. But dumping him themselves – I’m not into that I really believe it. For now they have something to lose,” the political scientist noted.

Abbas Gallyamov about internal processes in Russia: watch the video

In addition to the fact that the so-called “elites” have something to lose, they are also afraid of Putin. He is cruel, immoral, and traitors cannot count on pardon from the dictator. A striking example of this is the completion of the story with Prigozhin.

But this does not mean that Putin will not lose power because of them. How did Prigozhin’s coup begin? A dispute arose between the two groups on the topic “what to do to save their lives.” And this put the system on the verge of collapse. This will be repeated more than once,
” Gallyamov noted.

According to him, the system in Russia is already actively reaching a dead end and this will be another impetus for the elimination of Putin. But this will not be in the classical sense of a “palace coup.” Everything will be decided for the dictator.

“He will stand on the side somewhere and watch everything fall apart,” he suggested.

• Putin can be eliminated by his inner circle. It is said that Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev wants to nominate his son for the presidency. [GS – M.N.] And this will be a good opportunity for the “elites” to blame all crimes on the dictator.
• Anyone who does not benefit from the war may be interested in Putin’s death. They are tired of the dictator. The only solution to get rid of him is to hand him over to the Hague court or kill him.
• Putin does not spare personnel at the front and presses with numbers. But he may have big problems because of those who have been mobilized. In Russia, the wives of the occupiers are beginning to become dissatisfied with the fact that their husbands are not being released from the front.

On the night of December 2, the police raided a nightclub on Malaya Yakimanka in Moscow during an LGBT party, the Telegram channel “Caution, Moscow” reported . According to the channel, about 300 people attended the event; police raided the establishment under the pretext of searching for drugs. Several visitors were detained.

“In the middle of the party, they stopped the music and [the police] started entering the halls. There were also citizens of other countries at the party. On the way out they took photographs of passports without permission to do so. The scheme was worked out, this is how similar clubs in St. Petersburg were closed. Someone is panicking,” said one of the guests of the establishment.

The channel later reported that all participants were released when their passports were photographed.

“I thought that’s it, I’ll be imprisoned for 12 years. We didn’t understand, 300 of us stood naked, wearing only shorts, and waited for our clothes to be brought out. And no one understood what was happening,” said a party participant in a conversation with the Telegram channel “Caution, News” .

Similar raids took place in other thematic establishments. According to Caution, Moscow , they began around 22:00 Moscow time on December 1. Law enforcement officers checked a club near the Avtozavodskaya metro station and a strip club for men near the Polyanka station. The administration of the establishments warned visitors in advance about the police visit. The check also took place in a bar near Chistoprudny Boulevard.

“There was an ordinary party, the owner comes out and says that within an hour people in uniform will come in connection with the recent law. Within 20 minutes, the dance floor began to empty,” said eyewitnesses.

In addition, the administration of the establishment reported that a popular singer was supposed to perform at the bar, but she refused the event. The message does not specify who we are talking about.

According to the channel, raids also took place in “LGBT saunas.” In particular, security forces came to the men’s premium bathhouse near Tsvetnoy Boulevard.

“Everything is going on like a regular drug raid. No violations were detected, but the mood was spoiled. It was indelicate in the sauna, with show masks, they put everyone face down,” eyewitnesses told Beware, Moscow .

LGBT clubs are closing

On the evening of December 1, the Central Station club in St. Petersburg announced its closure. The Fontanka publication called it “one of the oldest gay clubs in St. Petersburg.”

“Unfortunately, the site we rented refused to allow us to work due to the law. We apologize, we are no longer working,” says a message on the club’s VKontakte page.

Recently the club was located on Konyushennaya Square, where it moved after the spring police raids on Dumskaya Street. In March of this year, about 20 establishments were sealed on Dumskaya and Lomonosova streets, and 13 bars were closed in April. According to the Investigative Committee , this was done as part of an investigation into a criminal case involving teenagers in the systematic use of alcohol.

According to Fontanka.ru , the authorities of St. Petersburg plan to turn Dumskaya into a pedestrian street with a cultural and gastronomic space. There will be restaurants, bars, clubs, street cafes, and a food hall. In addition, a children’s playground and ice skating rink will be installed there to attract visitors.

LGBT recognized as extremist

On November 30, the Supreme Court of Russia recognized the “International LGBT Movement” as extremist (recognized as extremist in  Russia and prohibited) and banned its activities in the country.

The lawsuit was filed by the Russian Ministry of Justice , in its assessment that the movement’s activities contain “various signs and manifestations of an extremist orientation, including incitement of social and religious hatred.” The department did not specify what exactly it considers a movement, who is in it or how it is organized.

On the same day, at the Forum of United Cultures in St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that LGBT people are part of the community:

“They, too, these topics and these people, have the right to win, show, tell. Because this is also part of society. This is also what people live by.”

In 2013, Russia banned the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships among minors. In 2022, the law was expanded to include a ban on the dissemination of such information among adults.