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‘We cried and we hugged each other,’ says father of released Palestinian teenager
Mohammad Salima returned home Tuesday to his worried father and siblings who broke down in tears and hugged him.
The 16-year-old was imprisoned by Israeli forces earlier this year for “throwing stones,” his father Khalil al-Sleimah told NBC News over text messages, and is among the Palestinian children released as part of the prisoners exchange deal between in Hamas and Israel.
“I told him now he’s safe and calm. Parting for four months was tough,” he said, adding that the family had no clue about his condition since Hamas launched its attacks on Oct 7.
Even though Salima had returned home, “he is terrified,” his father said.
Salima was first under three months of house arrest, he said, but a court order later forced his transfer to an Israeli prison. “It was the hardest day of my life,” he said.
Surveillance footage shows how deadly Jerusalem shooting unfolded
Surveillance video shared on social media revealed how the shooting during Jerusalem’s rush hour on Thursday left three dead in just over 30 seconds.
The footage shows two people get out of a car next to a bus stop and begin firing on passengers, who run for cover.
Seconds later, what look like two uniformed soldiers arrive in another vehicle and begin shooting at the attackers, who take cover by their own car.
Meanwhile, two other people run over to the scene from different sides of the road and also begin shooting at the attackers.
By the end of the video, just 39 seconds after the shooting began, the attackers are lying motionless by their car.
“This morning at around 07:40 there were reports of a shooting that took place at the Givat Shaul intersection on the way out of Jerusalem. Two terrorists who arrived at the scene in a vehicle armed with weapons, fired at civilians at the bus stop and were neutralized by security forces and a civilian who was nearby,” an Israeli police spokesperson said in a statement.
Blinken returns to Israel, says truce is ‘producing results’ and should continue
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel today and is meeting with Netanyahu at his office in Jerusalem.
“This process is producing results,” Blinken said of the truce that has seen the release of dozens of hostages taken from Israel as well as imprisoned Palestinian women and children.
“It’s important and we hope that it can continue,” he said, adding he was looking forward to conversations “about the way ahead in Gaza.”
17 Thai hostages arrive in Bangkok
A group of 17 Thai nationals who were held hostage by Hamas in Gaza arrived in Bangkok today to overjoyed families and a crowd of photographers.
The foreign ministry said earlier 23 hostages have been released in Gaza in total, with 9 remaining in captivity.
Cross-border fire between Lebanon, Israel for first time since Hamas truce began
The Israeli military said it intercepted an “aerial target” that crossed from Lebanon today, in the first instance of cross-border violence in Lebanon and southern Israel since the country brokered a series of temporary truce deals with Hamas on Friday.
“A short while ago, following the sirens that sounded in the areas of Dovev, Mattat, and Sasa in northern Israel, the IDF Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement.
UNIFIL, the U.N.’s peacekeeping force in northern Lebanon, added to Reuters that Israel retaliated against the launch.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility within Lebanon. The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel for several weeks. Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas have also targeted Israel from within Lebanon since the start of the most recent conflict.
Activist Ahed Tamimi among Palestinians freed by Israel
Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi was one of those freed by Israel last night.
Tamimi, 22, has been a prominent activist for Palestinian land rights since childhood. In 2017, she was arrested and imprisoned for eight months for slapping IDF soldiers during a raid of her home village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank.
Tamimi was one of hundreds arrested in the West Bank in November on charges of inciting terror. Tamimi’s mother has denied the charges against her daughter, saying they were based on fake social media posts.
The latest on today’s hostage deal
After a last-minute agreement saw the truce being extended by another day today, up to 10 hostages are expected to be released in exchange for 30 Palestinian women and children.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said today the families of those slated to be released today have been notified.
Qatar, which has played a key role in mediation between Hamas and Israel, said the extension was under existing conditions “which are a cessation of all military activities and the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said “efforts were ongoing with the aim of reaching a permanent cease-fire.”
Israeli president: Kissinger a ‘giant who shaped world politics’
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has paid tribute to Henry Kissinger as one of the “greatest diplomats” and a “giant who shaped world politics with his own hands and mind.”
In a post on X, Herzog hailed Kissinger’s rise to prominence from fleeing the Nazis as a teenager to “laying the foundations for Israel’s peace agreement with Egypt.”
Kissinger had told Herzog that he “always loved and supported Israel, and always will,” during their final meeting, he added.
Read the full obituary here.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in NYC amid Rockefeller tree lighting
Multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrators were seen gathering in Manhattan not far from the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting, waving flags and holding signs to protest the Israel-Hamas war.
At least 3 killed and 13 injured in Jerusalem shooting attack, Israeli authorities say
At least three people were killed and 13 others injured in a shooting attack at a bus stop during rush hour in Jerusalem this morning, Israeli authorities said.
“The initial investigation indicates that the terrorists arrived to the scene by car in the morning, armed with an M-16 rifle and a handgun. At a certain point, the terrorists began shooting at civilians before subsequently being killed at the scene,” the police said, adding ammunition was found in their car.
A 24-year-old woman was declared dead on the scene, and a 73-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman were declared dead at the hospital, emergency services said, with some of the injured in serious condition.
The two attackers “were neutralized” by a pair of off-duty IDF soldiers and a civilian, police said.
Joy for released hostages
Newly released Israeli hostages sit among soldiers as they arrive inside a van at Ofakim army base in southern Israel early this morning.
Israel confirms truce extension, says new list of hostages delivered
The office of Israel’s prime minister said that “Israel was given a list of women and children in accordance with the terms of the agreement” and that the pause in fighting would therefore continue.
“The War Cabinet unanimously decided last night that if a list is not delivered by seven o’clock this morning as agreed upon in the outline — fighting will be resumed immediately,” the prime minister’s office said.
In a statement a short time after 7 a.m., the prime minister’s office said a list had been given.
Hamas and Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said the truce would continue for a seventh day, meaning Thursday.
