Israeli-Dutch Ofir Engel not among the released hostages on Saturday, grandad says

Ofir Engel, the 18-year-old Dutchman being held by Hamas, is also not on the list of 14 hostages to be released on Saturday, his grandfather Jucha Engel told the ANP. He says that "unfortunately" he has not yet received any new information about his grandson Ofir. "He is not on the list of those to be released on Saturday," the grandfather said.

Engel's aunt Yael said in an interview with AD that waiting to see if his name appears on the list of released hostages was unbearable. "Last night we were told that he is not on today's list. Every day like this... every hour is unbearable... Yesterday, four hostages of German nationality were released. We thank once again for all the efforts made by the Dutch government and those of the ambassador of Qatar and we hope that their efforts will soon bring our Ofir home," she said Saturday morning.

The family received a call on Friday evening with the disappointing news that Ofir was not on the list for Saturday, according to Yael.

18-year-old Engel was kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7. Shortly afterwards, he was granted Dutch citizenship in an emergency procedure, on the assumption that this would increase his chances of being released.

The boy was visiting his girlfriend’s family in a kibbutz about ten kilometers from the Gaza Strip at the time of his kidnapping. He was taken along with his girlfriend’s father. The girlfriend, her mother, and her sisters managed to escape where they took shelter with a neighbor.

Hamas released 13 hostages on Saturday on the second day of the temporary ceasefire, Israeli media reported. They write that Israel has received a list of their names and that the release will probably take place before 4 p.m. local time.

The hostages' families are said to have been informed. Israel calls on the names of the hostages not to be shared until they return to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office published a list of names on Friday after the return of the first group of Israeli hostages.

Hamas and Israel have reached agreements to exchange 50 hostages for 150 Palestinians in Israeli captivity. They are released during a four-day truce. It is not known how many Palestinians will be released on Saturday.