Israeli-Dutch Ofir Engel also not among the released hostages on Sunday

The 18-year-old Dutchman Ofir Engel, who was taken hostage by Hamas, is not on the list of hostages who could be released on Sunday, his grandfather told ANP. Jucha Engel hopes that his grandson will be on the list on Monday and says that the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also working hard for Ofir's release.

Sunday marks the third day of a four-day pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel. This means that Monday is basically the last day on which the hostages can be released, although negotiations are underway to extend the deal.

On Saturday, Engel's aunt Yael said in an interview with AD that waiting to see if his name appears on the list of released hostages for Saturday 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 teenager 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 wrote 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.