VFI News 4-Day Ceasefire with Hamas Has Begun, First Hostage Exchange Taking Place Today

4-Day Ceasefire with Hamas Has Begun, First Hostage Exchange Taking Place Today

Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis spoke to Israeli media about the deal reached with the Hamas terrorist organization to free 50 of the 240 hostages who are being held in Gaza.

“It's a very complicated issue because we are dealing with the devil. Hamas - this is the devil on earth,” Akunis said. “But we said that we will do whatever is necessary to bring out hostages home to Israel, to their families.”

“If you want to be a leader, you need to decide in the difficult moments, not in the easiest moments. So I voted [in favor], with the majority of the government,” he noted. He stated emphatically that the four-day pause in fighting Israel agreed to as part of the hostage deal is not the end of the war against Hamas, but is “just the beginning.”

“It's not a ceasefire, it's not the end. We will continue the war, and we will defeat the evil,” he said. Similar comments were made by IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari on Tuesday, November 21: “This is a long war, with many rounds. It has set goals and it will take a long time to get to them. We will get ready for the next stages,” emphasizing that any pause would be temporary and not a real long-term ceasefire.

An Israeli government official said the deal is expected to see the release of 50 Israeli citizens – women and children in groups of 12-13 people over four days. In exchange, Israel has agreed to the release of 150 teenage and female Palestinian security prisoners.

On Friday, 39 Palestinian prisoners, among them 24 women and 15 teenage males, will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross at Israel's Ofer military jail around 4 p.m., said Qadura Fares, Palestinian commissioner for prisoners. That would coincide with the planned handover at the Gaza-Egypt border of the 13 Israeli women and children scheduled for Friday.

The ceasefire has already begun at 7 a.m. Israel time, and appeared to be holding shakily with no major reports of bombings, artillery strikes, or rocket attacks, although both sides were accused of violations. (INN / VFI News)

“God, we thank You for helping us reach an agreement on the release of the hostages taken captive by Hamas on October 7. We are extremely grateful that so many families will be reunited again and we pray for the hostages’ quick physical and mental recuperation. We hope that this is only the beginning and that all hostages will be released shortly. We also pray that You give our leaders mental clarity and determination so that they will pursue the best course of action in this regard.”

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed during the ongoing Cabinet meeting on the deal to free 50 of the hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization that the terms of the deal allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the hostages who are not released and to provide them with medical assistance.

This would be the first time the Red Cross has visited Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization. The organization never visited IDF soldier Gilad Shalit during the five years he was held captive by Hamas, nor has it visited Israeli civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed who have been held by Hamas in Gaza since 2014 and 2015, respectively.

The Red Cross has been criticized within Israel for its failure to pressure Hamas to abide by international law and to allow the organization to visit its captives. Instead, the Red Cross has largely condemned Israel for its responses to Hamas’ attacks.

“We are at war, and the war will continue until all our goals are achieved,” Netanyahu stated during the aforementioned Cabinet meeting, calling the return of the hostages a “sacred priority.”

“Before us is a difficult decision but the right one,” he said. “We will not rest until everyone is returned. The war has stages and the return of the hostages will have stages.” (INN / VFI News)

“Evildoers will bow down in the presence of the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.” - Proverbs 14:19

The director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City was arrested by Israeli forces on Thursday morning, November 23, and taken for questioning by the Shin Bet security agency, Israeli officials said. Several other medical personnel from the hospital were also reportedly detained.

A joint statement issued by the IDF and Shin Bet said Mohammad Abu Salmiya had been arrested and was being interrogated on suspicion of enabling the hospital to be used by Hamas as an operations center. “Mohammad Abu Salmiya was arrested along with several other senior doctors,” Khalid Abu Samra, a chief of department at the hospital, said earlier Thursday.

The Israeli statement noted that “considerable evidence was revealed that the hospital, under his direct management, served as a headquarters of the terrorist organization Hamas.” It said Hamas used many resources from the hospital, including electricity, to maintain a tunnel system under the facility.

“In addition, Hamas stored many weapons in and around the hospital,” the statement said, adding that there was “extensive terrorist activity” in the medical center which was under Abu Salmiya’s management.

Previously, before the signing of the hostage deal, Hamas had made a last-minute demand that Israel withdraw its forces from al-Shifa Hospital. However, Israel vehemently rejected the demand according to a report from Israeli media, and it was eventually not included in the deal. (TOI / VFI News)

“Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.” - Psalm 5:9

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday, November 23. The diplomat’s visit is important - first of all, it keeps up appearances that Iran and Hezbollah are working closely and that they back Hamas. Iranian regime media outlets said this was the diplomat’s second trip this month. He also traveled to Qatar to meet Hamas leaders, and he has been reaching out to Russia and Turkey.

Additionally, with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Hezbollah now holds many of the cards regarding further escalation. Hezbollah has threatened Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7 and has used rockets, anti-tank missiles, mortars, and drones to attack Israel. The IDF retaliates after each incident which has led to a kind of equilibrium in the north.

Further, the Houthis in Yemen, an Iran-backed terrorist movement who hijacked a ship this week, are also watching the meeting closely. A member of the movement warned that it would continue its attacks until the “demise of Israel.”

The group also released footage showing Houthi terrorists landing a helicopter on the ship and Houthi ships surrounding the vessel, which they said was linked to Israel. Israel, however, says the seized ship was British-owned and Japanese-operated.

Nonetheless, President Isaac Herzog commented on the hijacking: “If any further proof were needed that Iran’s network of terrorism and chaos is threatening the world, now comes the news that another Iranian proxy force, the Houthi militia of Yemen, has seized a merchant ship in international waters. Armed pirates hijacked the vessel ‘Galaxy Leader,’ en route to India from Turkey through the Red Sea, in broad daylight.” (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that You protect our borders from any foreign enemy and entity that wishes to harm Israel. We pray that their malicious plans will not come to fruition and that instead, such terrorist organizations will become dismantled under Your faithful guidance provided to our defense forces.”

In this heartfelt update, Barry Segal shares the latest on emergency medical and disaster relief efforts in Israel during the Swords of Iron War. Discover how your support has made a difference, from safety bomb shelters to winter jackets for soldiers. Join us in partnering with a vision for Israel's well-being.

Two weeks ago, Shin Bet and Border Police units captured two Hamas terrorists in the southern Bedouin city of Rahat, who had been in Israel for a month following the October 7 massacre, it was cleared for publication on Monday, November 20.

No IDF forces were injured in the arrest. Police fear that more terrorists who took part in the massacre of October 7 may still be lurking in Israeli territory, and so efforts to search for additional infiltrators continue.

The two infiltrators were allegedly staying with a resident of Rahat who claimed to have not known who they were. One of the infiltrators is a known Hamas operative, while the other was one of the hundreds of Gazans who joined the Hamas terrorists during the October 7 massacre.

According to Israeli media, the arrests were not publicized for two weeks due to concerns that the terrorists had been planning another attack inside Israel.

Meanwhile, the spokesman of Hamas’s armed wing called on Thursday, one day before the ceasefire, for the escalation of the confrontation with Israel: “We call for escalation of the confrontation with the occupation throughout … all resistance fronts,” the spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, said in a video speech aired by Arabic media. (INN / VFI News)

“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” - Proverbs 15:3

The war with the Hamas terror group is costing Israel at least NIS 1 billion ($269 million) per day and is poised to take a bigger toll on the country’s economy than previous conflicts, according to a report by global ratings agency Moody’s based on an initial estimate by the Finance Ministry.

“While the uncertainty remains very high, we believe that the impact on the economy could be more severe than in earlier episodes of military conflict and violence,” Kathrin Muehlbronner, senior vice president at Moody’s, said in a report released late on Monday, November 20.

The total cost of the war is estimated to have a price tag of as much as NIS 150 billion to NIS 200 billion, equal to up to around 10 percent of the gross domestic product, according to a recent report by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), cited by Moody’s, which last month put the Israeli government’s A1 credit ratings on review for downgrade.

Further, the economic fallout is becoming increasingly apparent in Israel’s unemployment rates. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the jobless rate reached nearly 10% in October, fueled by temporary work losses affecting over 428,000 individuals.

In October, the main unemployment rate remained steady at 3.4%. However, when factoring in the temporary loss of work due to the conflict, the rate reached 9.6%, with 428,400 people jobless compared to 163,600 in September. The employment rate for the same month dipped to 56.5% from 61.1%.

The October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israeli border towns resulted in the mobilization of nearly 400,000 Israelis to reserve duty, and approximately 80,000 were placed on unpaid leave in the aftermath. (TOI /VFI News)

Groups of pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, with some chanting and singing “Palestine will be free”, while others glued themselves to the street along the parade route.

One group of protesters took to the parade route in midtown Manhattan and unfurled a banner reading, “Liberation for Palestine and Planet.” They called for an end to fossil fuels while supporting Palestinians in Gaza.

The protesters wore white jumpsuits, doused themselves with red liquid, and glued their hands to the street to try to disrupt the parade. The crowd lining the sidewalk could be heard drowning out the chants with boos.

NYPD officers were seen removing the protesters from the street and taking them away from the scene so that the parade could continue.

On another part of the parade route, protesters waving Palestinian flags and holding pro-Palestinian signs were singing a variety of chants, including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Some chanted, “There is only one solution, intifada revolution,” while others called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. (FN /VFI News)

“He rules forever by His power, His eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against Him.” - Psalm 66:7

Monia Heno, a Druze-Israeli from the northern village of Junis, has advanced to the semi-finals of the World Kickboxing Championship. She is already a reigning champion, having won the European Junior Championship in 2021 and the European Senior Championship in 2022.

But Heno, 20, says this time is different: “This competition has a different meaning for all of us,” she said, a month and a half into Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. “I wanted to bring honor to the country and demonstrate to the world that we remain strong despite it all, each of us in our own area.”

After defeating her opponent, a contender from Italy, Heno wrapped herself in two flags: the Israeli and the Druze. She invoked the memory of Druze soldiers in the IDF who have been killed in combat following Hamas’s October 7 attack in Israel’s south.

“It was important for me to raise the Druze flag,” she said, “in memory of the sons of our community who have fallen in the war. We will remember them,” Heno vowed, “and the rest of our fallen, forever.”

Several Druze-Israelis have been killed in combat for Israel since the October 7 attack. First Lieutenant Jamal Abbas, 23, hailed from the tight-knit community of Peki’in in the Upper Galilee. Lt.-Col. Salman Habaka, 33, came from Yanuh-Jat and was killed in battle in Gaza earlier this month. Staff-Sgt. Adi Malik Harb, 19, who fell in battle in October, came from the Druze village of Beit Jann, which has the highest percentage of fallen soldiers of any community in Israel. According to Israeli media, 64 soldiers from the Druze town have fallen in battle. (JPost / VFI News)

“Lord, we ask that You comfort the families of the Druze soldiers who have been killed during the war with Hamas. We offer our sincerest condolences to them and we pray that they find solace in Your loving embrace. We also pray for a permanent ceasefire and justice for the many victims of the Hamas terrorist organization. May You mediate their immediate arrest and the elimination of their group as a whole.”

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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