Liat Beinin Atzili: US citizen among 16 Hamas hostages released

Liat Beinin Atzili, 49, is a mother-of-three

A dual US-Israeli citizen held hostage in Gaza has been released as part of a temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

The hostage, Liat Beinin Atzili, was taken from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel on 7 October.

She was among 12 Israeli and four Thai hostages released by Hamas on Wednesday.

Eight other US citizens are believed still to be in captivity.

Ms Atzili's release was confirmed by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum and US President Joe Biden.

"I talked with her mother and father. They're very appreciative, and things are moving well," Mr Biden said. "She'll soon be home with her three children."

It was believed Ms Atzili's husband Aviv was being held hostage as well after her release, Kibbutz Nir Oz announced on Friday that he had been killed on 7 October. His death has yet to be confirmed by US or Israeli officials.

"May his soul rest in peace," Kibbutz Nir Oz said in a Facebook post announcing Aviv's death. They said he was the "backbone of the Nir Oz community", a "painter, cyclist, lover of people and land".

Thirty Palestinians held by Israel were also released on Wednesday as part of the Qatari-mediated ceasefire deal.

About 1,200 people were killed and some 240 hostages taken when Hamas raided Israel on 7 October.

Mrs Atzili, 49, is a teacher at a school near Gaza and youth guide at Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to victims of the Holocaust.

Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, called for the release of more than 100 hostages still in captivity as well as Mrs Atzili's Yad Vashem colleague Alex Dancyg, a historian and Holocaust educator.

In a November interview with Politico, Ms Atzili's father, Yehuda Beinin, said she reported that the situation on 7 October was "crazy" and that one of her friends recorded a conversation with her shortly before she was abducted.

"You can hear the desperation in her voice as to the situation around her house," he said. "I've never heard her speak like this. It was very, very desperate, very low tone of voice. She may very well have been trying to be quiet, not to make noise."

"That was basically the last anybody heard from her," Mr Beinin added.

• Who are the released hostages?

• Israeli captives tell of fear, squalor and hunger

A statement from the Israeli security forces says the released hostages arrived back in Israeli territory via Egypt - accompanied by special forces troops.

The statement says the group will undergo medical tests, before being taken to hospitals - where they will be reunited with their families.

The group included three women with German-Israeli nationality and a minor with Dutch-Israeli nationality. Earlier, two Russian-Israeli citizens were released.

Another US hostage, four-year-old Abigail Edan, was released earlier this week.

Two other US hostages, Judith and Natalie Raanan, were released by Hamas "for humanitarian reasons" in late October.

Eight other Americans are believed to be in captivity, the White House said earlier this week.

In a statement on Wednesday, President Biden said the US is "determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7".

Wednesday marked the sixth day of a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Talks are ongoing in an effort to extend the ceasefire before it expires.

"The deal has delivered meaningful results," Mr Biden said. "Nearly 100 hostages have been returned to their loved ones. And the United States has led the international community to use this pause to accelerate the delivery of additional humanitarian assistance into Gaza."