17 additional Hamas hostages released after hours-long delay

A minimum of 5.6 million people have been driven from their homes, a further 25 million need aid and some 9,000 have been killed in Sudan since the latest conflict began earlier this year, according to the U.N. The situation gets worse daily, with increasing credible reports of ethnically based attacks and rape of women and children.

Yet Sudan is literally the forgotten war.

"An Arab paramilitary group is carrying out a genocide in Sudan with mass killings of minorities and corpses spread across streets," Richard Goldberg, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

There’s little media coverage, and relief agencies battle to get into the world’s spotlight so they can supplement funds, which at the same time are diminishing.

The World Food Program (WFP) has delivered food to over 3 million people in Sudan "in very difficult circumstances" since the start of the conflict. A WFP spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Our humanitarian dollar is being stretched to the breaking point. Across the board, the gulf between humanitarian needs and funding available to respond has grown steadily."

Upwards of 6 million people have been ripped from their homes — but reportedly not even 600 have demonstrated against the atrocities in Sudan. Goldberg, who was also a member of former President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, pointed out this contrast with the massive protests engulfing Europe and parts of the U.S. over the war in Gaza.

"There’s no mob outside the White House to stop the indiscriminate killing of thousands in Sudan," said Goldberg. "These extremists only seem to get agitated by Jews who lawfully defend themselves from further mass slaughter," he said.

Fox News' Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.

The University of Southern California recently moved a Jewish economic professor to remote work after he called Hamas terrorists "murderers" who "should be killed" in front of a group of pro-Palestinian students on campus.

Professor John Strauss was shifted to teach the rest of his classes for the semester remotely after the confrontation between him and the students earlier this month.

USC confirmed the move to Fox News Digital this weekend in a statement saying Strauss "is teaching his classes remotely through the end of the semester."

Strauss became the center of controversy after his on-campus interaction with pro-Palestinian demonstrators organized by USC Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation, USC Graduates for Palestine, and Trojans for Palestine.

Video of the confrontation depicted Strauss walking past the student protesters and calling them "ignorant. Really ignorant."

Once the students engaged him, the professor added, "Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are."

However, shorter edits of that footage – which left out the portion naming Hamas – spread online, giving many viewers the impression that Strauss wanted Palestinians killed.

Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

9-year-old Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli girl who was held in Hamas captivity and released Saturday, was filmed seeing her father for the first time in over 50 days.

The video shows the young girl running into the arms of her dad, who embraced her. Israeli military officials stood by while the family members hugged each other.

Other hostages who were released on Saturday include Hila Rotem Shoshani, Shiri and Noga Weis and Adi and Yahel Shoham. 13 Israelis were released in total on Saturday, along with 4 Thai citizens.

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it has been made aware of the hostages that Hamas plans to release Sunday.

"We have received the list of hostages who will be released today (Sunday) following the schedule," the office's statement read. "The security officials are checking the list."

The office asked journalists to avoid "spreading rumors and unofficial information" amid the 4-day hostage exchange period.

"On behalf of the person in charge of the hostages and the missing, Lt. Col. Gal Hirsch, the information has been given to the families of the hostages," the statement continued. "We ask the media to act with the required caution."

"We will add reliable information as needed and ask to avoid spreading rumors and unofficial information," the office added.

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

The 13 Israeli citizens joined four Thai foreign nationals who were also released by Hamas late Saturday.

The group, which did not include any Americans, traveled to the Rafah Border Crossing with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).The group consisted of women, teenagers and children.

Noam Or, 17, and Alma Or, 13, were part of the group, along with 53-year-old Shiri Weiss and 18-year-old Noga Weiss.Sharon Hertzman Avigdori, 52, and 12-year-old Noam Avigdori were also released. Other captives included Shoshan Haran, 67, Adi Shoham, 38, and 8-year-old Nave Shoham, along with 3-year-old Yahel Shoham.

Read the full article about the Israeli hostages by Andrea Vacchiano

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released footage showing a vehicle filled with hostages that were kidnapped by Hamas entering Israeli territory on Saturday night.

Hamas had agreed to free 13 Israelis and 7 non-Israelis on Saturday, but the vehicle reportedly only carried 4 foreign nationals. The number of Israelis remained the same.

The Israelis that were freed were women, children and teenagers. The youngest captive was 3-year-old Yahel Shoham, while the oldest was Shoshan Haran, 67.

The Israeli Prison Service also confirmed early Sunday morning that it released 39 Palestinians in exchange for the hostages.

Former President Trump blasted American leaders as there were no U.S. citizens released in the past few days by Hamas.

Hamas terrorists released 17 hostages late Saturday, and 24 on Friday, but none of them were any of the 10 American citizens being held, including 4-year-old Avigail Idan. The release of hostages comes as Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day cease-fire.

Fifty hostages held by Hamas are expected to be released within the four-day window, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. In exchange, 150 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel will be released.

Read the full article about former President Trump by Adam Sabes

On Saturday, the Israeli government released footage from Friday night of hostages arriving in Israel after being released by Hamas officials.

The X account for the Prime Minister of Israel said that the footage was the first official video of Friday night's group of 13 hostages arriving back into their country.

The video shows a group of adults leaving a vehicle. Some of the hostages were elderly, with one being transported in a wheelchair.

Other hostages were seen waving and smiling and they were accompanied by Israeli military officials. None of the hostages were American.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that it intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Saturday night, the second day of the four-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

The interception occurred near the Red Sea, which separates Asia and Africa.

"An IDF fighter jet successfully intercepted a UAV approaching Israeli territory in the area of the Red Sea a short while ago," the IDF's post on X read.

"The threat did not infiltrate Israeli territory," the post added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced late Saturday night that a group of hostages taken by Hamas were on their way out of the Gaza Strip.

The captives were en route to the Rafah Border Crossing. The IDF was given the update by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Hamas officials gave the Red Cross 13 Israelis and 4 non-Israelis. It was previously announced that Hamas would release 19 Israelis and 7 non-Israelis.

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

President Biden was briefed on Saturday about "the state of the hostage deal implementation" amid the Israel-Hamas war, White House officials say.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told Fox News that Biden spoke directly with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Saturday morning.

"Following the President’s call, senior US officials were in regular contact with the Israelis, Qataris, and Egyptians to overcome hurdles to implementation," Watson's statement read. "The President was briefed throughout the day."

Biden was told by Qatari officials at around 1:30 p.m. that the hostage deal would resume and that the International Committee of the Red Cross was working to collect the captives.

Fox News Digital's Sarah Tobianski contributed to this report.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip that Israel's military operations will not conclude until all of the hostages held by Hamas are freed.

Gallant spoke to commanders and soldiers from the IDF's infantry, armored corps, engineering and navy forces on Saturday, who are operating in the Gaza Strip, the military said. He addressed the temporary cease-fire and negotiations with Hamas to free some 240 hostages the terror group took captive in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

“Our ability to bring home the first group of hostages is the result of military pressure. As soon as military pressure is applied, they [Hamas] want a break. When you increase the pressure, they want another break. When you increase the pressure even more, they are ready to come forward with an offer, and when you increase it even more, they are read to come with an acceptable offer – that’s the whole method," Gallant said. 

"We cannot leave Gaza and stop the war until we reach a situation in which we bring back all the hostages – because we have many more [held captive]," he added. 

Addressing the soldiers directly, he said: “There is a direct correlation between your actions and the elimination of the enemy [Hamas] and also between your actions and our ability to bring back the hostages – that’s the process. The timeframe for the pause is short – it won’t take weeks, it will take days – a little more, a little less – any further negotiations will be held under fire. That is, they want to continue discussing the next time [the next pause] – it will be held while our forces are fighting – that’s the basis [for any pause]."

Large pro-Palestinian demonstrations continued for the seventh straight week in London as tens of thousands too to the streets on Saturday. 

At least one person was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred "near the start of the protest," Metropolitan police said. 

“Officers spotted him carrying a placard with Nazi symbols on it," police said. 

Officers handed out leaflets at the march that sought to clarify what would be deemed an offence, after the force faced pressure from senior government officials to be tougher on alleged displays of antisemitism at the protests.

“Anyone who is racist or incites hatred against any group should expect to be arrested. As should anyone who supports Hamas or any other banned organisation,” said Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Ade Adelekan.

“We will not tolerate anyone who celebrates or promotes acts of terrorism – such as the killing or kidnap of innocent people – or who spreads hate speech," he added.

The police said 1,500 officers were deployed to keep the peace at the protest, the Associated Press reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden retreated to Nantucket, where he normally finds reprieve from the demands of running the country, but pro-Palestinian protesters managed to track him down and remain a reminder of the troubles waiting for him. 

The protesters found Biden twice on Friday, once as he departed lunch with his family and again when they attended a tree-lighting ceremony. Each time, they shouted now-familiar slogans, including "Free Palestine" and "Biden, Biden, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide!"

If the president heard them, he didn’t let them know: Biden focused on greeting members of the children’s choir who performed at the tree lighting. A local official tried to dissuade the protesters from interrupting the ceremony, stressing that it was not a political event. 

Biden’s staunch support for Israel has come at a price as his party finds itself divided over the war in the Gaza Strip. His polling numbers have slumped as younger voters and members of his party stand in favor of the Palestinian people, who have died by the thousands during Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza. 

Retired Brigadier Gen. Don Bolduc shared his insights on the Israel-Hamas war with Fox News on Saturday, calling the cease-fire agreed to by both sides "unbalanced" in favor of Hamas. 

Bolduc said Israel's dual goals to destroy Hamas and secure the release of hostages are "incompatible with each other when it comes to securing decisive military operations on the ground." 

Citing his experience fighting with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Bolduc warned that the international community is "tying one hand behind the Israeli military's back" with demands to stop the fighting.

"I lived this for ten tours in Afghanistan, and I saw how it emboldened the enemy," Bolduc said. "Humanitarian supplies will end up in the hands of Hamas and be taken from the Palestinian civilians. That's just the reality of it." 

He said Israel needs the "political wherewithal" to resist international pressure and finish the mission to destroy Hamas terrorists. 

Fifty trucks carrying humanitarian aid including food, water and medical supplies were sent to the northern Gaza Strip during the truce between Israel and Hamas that began on Friday, Israel said.

This was the first time since the start of the war that a significant amount of aid was deployed to northern Gaza, according to the Israeli Defence Ministry agency that coordinates with the Palestinians.

Both sides have said that fighting will resume once a four-day cease-fire expires, although Israel has said there's a possibility the truce could be extended. Qatari and Egyptian mediators helped negotiate an arrangement for Hamas to release 50 hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Israel has said the cease-fire may be extended one day for every 10 additional hostages released.

Hamas terrorists took some 240 people back to Gaza during the attack, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were brutally murdered.

Since then, Israel has rained bombs on Gaza, killing about 14,000 people, roughly 40% of them children, the Hamas-led Gaza health ministry claims. Hamas does not distinguish between civilian and terrorist deaths and its claimed casualties cannot be independently verified. 

Reuters contributed to this update.