Middle East latest: Hostages freed from Gaza rarely saw sunlight, families say

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UNITED NATIONS — More than 545,000 Palestinians are estimated to have crossed from southern Gaza to northern Gaza in the past week since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect, the United Nations says.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Monday that the U.N. and its humanitarian partners also report that over 36,000 people have been observed moving from northern Gaza to the south during the same period.

In North Gaza, U.N. partners said three temporary sites that have been established in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and Jabalya, each capable of holding 5,000 people.

As more humanitarian aid enters Gaza and the ceasefire continues to hold, Dujarric said U.N. partners report that prices have started to fall, though they remain about pre-conflict levels.

“One-third of households reportedly have better access to food, but consumption remains significantly below levels prior to the escalation of hostilities,” he said. “For most households, the primary obstacle is just lack of cash.”

Meanwhile, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher arrived Monday for a weeklong visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Dujarric said. He is expected to visit the West Bank and Gaza Strip and meet with senior officials to see first-hand “and get a better understanding of the obstacles facing aid partners, and also look at how to best and improve our humanitarian operations.”

JERUSALEM — The family of Yarden Bibas, a hostage who was released from captivity Saturday, said he was held in very difficult conditions and subject to “ongoing psychological torture,” according his sister said Monday from the hospital where he is recovering in Tel Aviv.

He has lost significant weight and muscle mass because of the conditions, including rarely seeing the sun, Ofri Bibas-Levy said.

Yarden Bibas was kidnapped separately from his wife, Shiri Bibas, and his two children, Ariel and Kfir, who were 4 years old and 9 months old when they were kidnapped. Kfir was the youngest of about 30 children taken hostage Oct. 7, and the infant with red hair and a toothless smile become a symbol across Israel.

“Since he was released, he has asked just one question: Where are Shiri and the children?” said Dana Silberman-Sitton, the sister of Shiri Bibas.

Bibas-Levy also pleaded for Israel and the US to continue the negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it had located and destroyed several weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon on Monday, where troops are continuing to operate as a fragile ceasefire enters its third month.

Israel said soldiers had found mortar shells, missiles, rockets, explosives, firearms and a large amount of military equipment belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, without providing evidence. The military said it also killed a number of Hezbollah militants located close to Israeli troops.

The ceasefire deal for Lebanon gave both sides 60 days to remove their forces from southern Lebanon and for the Lebanese army to move in and secure the area. Israel says Hezbollah and the Lebanese army haven’t met their obligations, while Lebanon accuses the Israeli army of hindering the Lebanese military from taking over.

The 60-day deadline expired at the end of January. Israel said the agreement is progressing but, in some sectors, “it has been delayed and will take slightly longer.”

JERUSALEM — American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, who was released from captivity Saturday, spent long periods of time alone, rarely saw sunlight and was given very little food, causing him to lose a drastic amount of weight, his daughter said Monday night from the hospital in Tel Aviv where her father is recuperating.

Shir Siegel added that her father insisted Monday on knowing what happened to Kibbutz Kfar Aza during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“We had to go over a cruel and long list of 64 people, dear to us and loved, and he could not understand that so many of his friends were murdered,” Siegel said.

Aviva Siegel, Keith Siegel's wife, who was also kidnapped and released in the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023, thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for help negotiating the ceasefire and pleaded with him to ensure the next stage of the ceasefire will take place.

“The hardest part is ahead of us, and I trust you to see this deal through, because it’s the road to healing for all of us,” she said, in a message to both the Israeli and American governments.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s opposition leader says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will not fall over the continuation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that brings about the return of more hostages.

Yair Lapid spoke Monday, the day before Netanyahu was to meet with Trump at the White House to discuss the truce. His remarks aimed at preventing Netanyahu from citing domestic political pressure as a reason for resuming the war.

Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have vowed to quit the government if he does not resume the war after the first phase ends in early March. Their departure would significantly raise the chances of early elections in which Netanyahu could be voted out.

Lapid, speaking from an Israeli community near the border that was devastated in Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, said “Netanyahu has a political safety net from the opposition for the deal, for every stage.”

“The deal has the overwhelming support of the people of Israel, and the deal has the overwhelming support of the Knesset of Israel,” he added, referring to Israel’s parliament.

MOSCOW — A senior Russian diplomat met a visiting Hamas envoy Monday to discuss the ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for the Middle East and Africa, held talks with Hamas’ Musa Abu-Marzouq.

The ministry said they discussed the progress of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza “with an emphasis on the importance of increasing the volume of humanitarian aid to the affected Palestinian population.”

The ministry’s statement noted that the Russian side once again “particularly emphasized the need to fulfill the promises made by the Hamas leadership” regarding the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

ANKARA, Turkey — Syria’s interim president is set to visit Ankara on Tuesday, making his second international trip after his visit to Saudi Arabia, a top Turkish presidential aide has announced.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, the newly installed former rebel leader who headed the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group, is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials.

Talks would focus on steps that can be taken toward Syria’s economic recovery as well as the country’s security and stability, Fahrettin Altun, the aide, announced on the X social media platform Monday.

Discussions would also center on how various countries and international organizations can offer assistance to Syria’s transitional administration and its people, he added.

Turkey was a strong backer of groups opposed to ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad during the country’s civil war and is considered to be one of the new administration’s key allies.