American among hostages freed on 6th day of Gaza truce

Hamas released 16 hostages, including dual Israeli-American citizen Liat Beinin Atzili, as talks continued over extending the truce.

AL-MONITOR Staff
AL-MONITOR Staff
Newly release Israeli hostages sit among soldiers as they arrive inside a vehicle at Ofakim army base in southern Israel early on Nov. 30, 2023, after being freed from the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Newly release Israeli hostages sit among soldiers as they arrive inside a vehicle at Ofakim army base in southern Israel early on Nov. 30, 2023, after being freed from the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. — MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON — An American woman is among the 16 Israeli and foreign hostages Hamas released Wednesday from the Gaza Strip under a truce set to expire Thursday morning. 

The Palestinian militants abducted dual Israeli-American citizen Liat Beinin Atzili, a high school teacher and guide at Israel’s Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem, from Kibbutz Nir Oz last month. Hamas also took hostage her husband Aviv, who remains in captivity. 

"Jill and I are deeply gratified that she will soon be reunited with her three children and her father, who have been wracked with worry for her safety," President Joe Biden said in a statement. 

“We remain determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7, including Liat’s husband Aviv,” Biden said. 

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