13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas as cease-fire holds

Israel’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism Michal Cotler-Wunsh told Fox News Digital in a wide-ranging interview about the world’s oldest hatred that the modern proliferation of antisemitism in the U.S. has its origins in an anti-Israel United Nations resolution from 1975.

"We have to understand that the U.S. is experiencing such massive growth in antisemitism, and we see not only the antisemitism that fueled the atrocities of 10/7, but those that actually fueled the responses to the atrocities of 10/7 across North American campuses, on the streets and online. It is part of a decade’s-long process," said Cotler-Wunsh.

The Israeli envoy said, "The world before 10/7 and the world after it, like 9/11, cannot continue as if nothing happened."

The terrorist movement Hamas’ mass murder of 1,200 people on Oct. 7 in southern Israel is widely viewed as the Jewish state’s version of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Cotler-Wunsh took the United Nations to task for passing an antisemitic resolution in 1975 that equated the founding philosophy of Israel — Zionism — with racism. The infamous "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination" resolution was revoked in 1991.

She said, "I would say the strain of antisemitism that is anti-Zionism, the negation of Israel's very right to exist across North America … began with the 1975 Zionism is racism resolution. Soviet propaganda passed at the U.N. has become mainstream across North American campuses in the name of progress."

Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal and Emily Robertson contributed to this report.

Eight pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Friday at a demonstration near Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dozens of protesters holding signs supporting Palestinians marched from the Lenox MARTA station toward Peachtree Road Friday afternoon.

Demonstrators were heard shouting "From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever," as honking cars went by.

Police were seen putting multiple people in zip-tie handcuffs before placing them into transport vehicles while demonstrators demanded their release. Among those taken into police custody was one person who was wearing a sash that read "legal observer," according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement to Fox 5 Atlanta that some of the demonstrators entered the street and refused officers' orders to disperse.

"APD continues to monitor the situation to ensure the safety of shoppers, visitors and demonstrators, and to uphold the law and protect the right to free speech," a spokesperson said.

Former Indiana governor and Purdue University President Emeritus Mitch Daniels rebuked American universities for allowing antisemitism to spread on their campuses in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.

In a Washington Post column titled, "How Oct. 7 revealed the moral vacuity of U.S. higher education," Daniels slammed colleges where pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli protests have taken place since the attack. In many of these campus demonstrations, protesters have accused the Jewish people of oppressing Gazans to the point where Hamas launched the assault in retaliation.

Daniels accused these universities of "wallowing in moral confusion and hypocrisy" over the issue and expressed hope that this "disgraceful moment" helps college administrators reflect on their poor decisions over the years.

Daniels began his essay by reminiscing on how impressed he was with his Jewish neighbors growing up in Indianapolis, stating, "As much as I admired my Jewish friends’ grades and study habits, I marveled even more at the values with which many were raised."

Providing a couple of anecdotes characterizing his admiration, he continued, "On Halloween, when I was out practicing minor vandalism and raking in all the candy I could carry home, many of my Jewish classmates were out collecting donations for UNICEF. As an incensed nation grieved for three young civil rights volunteers killed in Mississippi in 1964, we were unsurprised to learn that two of the victims who had been working for equality in the South were Jewish."

The former governor also recalled how he had Jewish roommates in college in the 1960s, and mentioned how he, at that time, witnessed Israel’s neighbors vow to destroy the country and its people amid the Six-Day War.

Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

BBC employees were reportedly instructed not to attend an upcoming march against antisemitism in London this weekend.

According to U.K. outlet The Times, the upcoming National Solidarity March Against Antisemitism was deemed too "controversial" for the network’s employees — even its Jewish ones — to attend. 

BBC employees, including reporters and senior management, alleged that the network would not let them attend the upcoming rally. The march "is set to be the largest demonstration in support of British Jews since the 1936 Battle of Cable Street," according to Campaign Against Antisemitism, the group organizing the event.

The outlet reported that BBC employees looking to attend pro-Palestinian rallies had been barred from attending those as well.

According to staff members, the decision to prohibit their attendance at the rally is in line with BBC guidelines regarding any "controversial march or demonstration."

As the BBC reported in 2020, the network established guidelines mandating that staff members should not "express a personal opinion on matters of public policy, politics, or controversial subjects," which covered attendance at rallies.

However, in response to employees at the time seeking attendance at various pro-LGBTQ rallies, BBC Director General Tim Davie clarified that "there is no issue for these staff attending community events that are clearly celebratory or commemorative and do not compromise perceptions of their impartiality." 

Several employees disagreed with the BBC standard applied to the march against antisemitism as compared to the standard applied to LGBTQ or antiracist marches in the past.

Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

Anti-Israel protesters took to the streets across the United States on Friday in an effort to disrupt Black Friday shoppers by calling for a Palestinian uprising.

Demonstrations took place in Boston, Los Angeles and New York City, on the first day of a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas. 

"There is only one solution: Intifada revolution!" protesters gathered in Lower Manhattan's Washington Square Park chanted.  

Calls for an intifada, or uprising, have become increasingly common in anti-Israel protests since the brutal Oct.7 Hamas attack that saw more than 1,200 people murdered in Israeli communities near Gaza, including children and babies. 

Protesters in New York called for shoppers to boycott companies as well as shouting antisemitic statements, such as, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." Media reports said the protest consisted of about 2,000 people, and that another 1,000-2,000 protesters also gathered near Macy's flagship store blocks away. 

In Los Angeles, protesters converged on The Grove, a popular shopping district just south of Hollywood, according to one report, to "make it clear that there will be no business as usual until Palestine is free."  

Police monitored the protesters as they marched through the area and disrupted traffic. 

In Boston, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Puma flagship store in a popular shopping area to criticize the company's ties to Israel, according to local NPR station WGBH. 

The outlet cited the company in stating that it provides Israel's national soccer teams with branded equipment for international competitions. 

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

The director of an Israeli children’s hospital that received some of the hostages freed Friday said they were doing well.  

Dr. Efrat Baron Har Lev, head of the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petach Tikvah, said that "four children, three mothers and one grandmother who are finally in the best and most caring hands,” have been evaluated, the Haaretz newspaper reported.  

Lev said their physical condition is good, and they are currently undergoing a medical and emotional evaluation." 

“We're doing everything to take care of the physical and mental health of all those who return to us,” he said.  

Five other hostages, all elderly women, were being cared for at the Wolfson Hospital in Holon, The Times of Israel reported.

President Biden was greeted with jeers from protesters while in Nantucket, Massachusetts on Friday who called for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas as the president was on his way to lunch with First Lady Jill Biden.

The first family was taking a stroll down Broad Street on the island when protesters began shouting “Free Palestine” and “ceasefire” before he entered a restaurant.

The incident came hours after Hamas released the first group of hostages as part of a deal between Israel and the terror group.

More are expected to be released on Saturday and in the coming days.

“I’ve consistently pressed for a pause in the fighting for two reasons: to accelerate and expand the humanitarian assistance going into Gaza and two, to facilitate the release of hostages,” Biden said during a Friday afternoon speech. “It’s only a start, but so far, it’s gone well."

An Israeli man whose wife and daughter returned to him after they were held captive by Hamas said he was elated but won’t celebrate until all hostages are returned.

In a video message, Yoni Katz expressed thanks to Israel and the Israel Defense Forces for the return of his family.

"My family Doron, Raz and Aviv returned home to me from captivity,” he said. “I am determined to bring about the resurrection of my family from the trauma and the terrible bereavement we went through, for the future my children and Doron. Complex days are still ahead of me.”

“I am happy that I got my family back, it is allowed to be happy and it is allowed to shed a tear,” he added. “It's a human thing. But I don't celebrate, I won't celebrate until the last of the hostages returns.”

Two dozen hostages were released Friday, including 13 Israelis, from Gaza on Friday amid the four-day truce between the terror group and Israel.

Itay Raviv had three family members – cousins Karen and 9-year-old Ihad and his aunt Ruth – were also released Friday. His uncle is still being held captive.

“Now we have a little bit of joy and relief of a small moment of joy,” Raviv told guest host Edward Lawrence on “Your World with Neil Cavuto.” “But it's not over until everyone is back. We're going to be scared and worried until everyone is back home safely.”

He added that “not even a quarter of all hostages have been released or are going to be released in this agreement.”

Raviv said his family will try to ease his newly freed loved ones back into normal daily life. 

President Biden said he was unsure when any American hostages being held by Hamas would be released after none were freed on the first day of the terror group’s cease-fire with Israel.  

"We don't know when that will occur, but we're going to expect it to occur," Biden said while addressing the release of hostages from his vacation in Nantucket, Massachusetts.  

"We don't know what the list of all the hostages are and when they will be released, but we know the numbers that are going to be released, So, it's my hope and expectation it will be soon," he added.

He added that he didn’t know the conditions of the Americans being held captive. Two dozen hostages were released Friday, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino citizen, and more are expected to be freed Saturday. 

Around 10 Americans are being held in Gaza, according to U.S. intelligence. Israeli leaders have vowed to resume the war once the cease-fire lifts.

Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday proposed an international  peace conference during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to forge a Palestinian state. 

Sanchez also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. He was also set for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, a city in the West Bank, later on Thursday before travelling on to Egypt, Reuters reported. 

"Today, more than ever, we need to bring back a serious and credible prospect for peace," Sanchez said after talks with Netanyahu. "Without a political settlement, we are bound to run again into a never-ending cycle of violence." 

"It is in Israel's interest to work for peace, and today, peace means the establishment of a viable Palestinian state that includes the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, according to the U.N. resolutions," he added. 

Sanchez’s remarks came after Israel summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium over remarks by Sanchez and his Belgian counterpart over Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza.  

Proposals for a Palestinian state have failed in the past, mostly over disputes about territories captured by Israel in 1967. Palestinian officials have rejected previous proposed peace deals over the decades since Israel’s creation.  

Some of the issues that have stalled progress are the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the status of Jerusalem and differences over borders.

Israel has received a list of hostages being held in Gaza who will be freed on Saturday.  

The names have not been made public. On Friday, Hamas released the first hostages on the first day of a temporary cease-fire between the terror group and Israel. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said returning all of the hostages is one of Israel’s objectives, aside from eliminating Hamas. 

"Israel will continue its war on Hamas and we will not stop until we achieve our two main goals, overthrowing the rule of Hamas and returning all the abductees back to us, safe and sound," Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Friday as he toured Israel’s ravaged border areas with his counterparts from Portugal and Slovenia. 

Officials have floated the idea that the cease-fire can be extended another day for each additional group of 10 hostages released.  

Fox News’ Trey Yingst contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said Israel is committed to bringing home all of the hostages being held by Hamas. 

In a short video message posted to X hours after the first batch of hostages were released, Netanyahu said returning the captives is one of Israel’s objectives.  

"We just completed the return of the first of our hostages: children, their mothers and additional women,” he said. “Each of them is an entire world.” 

He emphasized that Israel is committed to “returning all of the hostages.” “This is one of the aims of the war,” he said. “And we are committed to achieving all the aims of the war.” 

The first hostages were freed at the start of a temporary pause in the fighting beginning Friday.  

No American hostages were released. President Biden said he expects future waves of captives to be freed in the coming days.

Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Friday as part of a cease-fire deal with the terrorist group Hamas in exchange for 13 Israeli hostages.

Qadura Fares, who heads an advocacy group for prisoners, told the Associated Press 33 prisoners freed in the West Bank were handed to a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross. He said the remaining six were being freed from a Jerusalem lockup.

Under the terms of the agreement, the cease-fire will last for four days. During that time, Israel will exchange 150 Palestinian prisoners for 50 hostages captured by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier the 13 hostages returned by Hamas were in the hands of Israeli authorities and received a medical assessment. They are being transported to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families, officials said. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the release of hostages on Friday and said the safe return of all those taken "is one of the goals of the war and we are committed to achieving all of the goals of the war." 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that the 13 hostages released by Hamas are with IDF Special Forces and Israeli Securities Authority forces on Israeli soil. 

The released Israelis underwent medical assessment and will be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they are transported to Israeli hospitals, where they will meet their families, the military said. 

"The Israel Defense Forces salutes and embraces the released hostages upon their return home," the IDF said in a statement. "The IDF, together with the entire Israeli security establishment, will continue operating until all the hostages are returned home."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office embraced the return of these hostages in a statement.

"We have now completed the return of the first of our hostages. Children, their mothers and more women. Each and every one of them is a whole world," Netanyahu said.

"But I emphasize to you - the families, and to you - the citizens of Israel: we are committed to the return of all our abductees," he continued. "This is one of the goals of the war and we are committed to achieving all the goals of the war."

Fox News' Dana Karni contributed to this update.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday called on the European Union to recognize a Palestinian state in remarks delivered at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza.

Speaking alongside Belgium Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, Sánchez criticized Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip and said it was time for the international community to recognize Palestinian statehood. He warned that if the European Union fails to act, Spain would do so unilaterally.

Sánchez said it would better if the EU did it together, “but if this is not the case … Spain will take their own decisions.”

He was speaking at end of a two-day visit to Israel, Palestinian Territories and Egypt with de Croo.

Israel has the right to defend itself "but it must do so within the parameters and limits imposed by international humanitarian law and this is not the case,” Sánchez said. “The indiscriminate killing of civilians, including thousands of boys and girls, are completely unacceptable.”

In response, the Israeli government ahs summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium, the Associated Press reported. 

The terrorist group Hamas released their first wave of hostages, beginning a four-day exchange that has paused the violence in Gaza.

Twenty-five hostages were transported out of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing on Friday, according to the Times of Israel, citing Israeli officials.

Twelve Thai nationals and 13 Israelis were released into the care of Red Cross personnel, who were seen carrying those rescued via ambulance from Gaza into Egypt. The Israeli hostages were then expected to be transported to Israel to receive care at various hospitals.

Images show the hostages being transported in Red Cross vehicles.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day ceasefire during which the terrorist group will release 50 women and children taken in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The hostages will be released over a 4-day period, beginning Friday, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

Israeli leaders have vowed to resume the war once the cease-fire lifts.

Fox News Digital's Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this update.