The ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas and Israel hangs by a thread, not only due to the arrival of Donald Trump and his controversial plans for the US Presidency. After a fifth exchange in which Israel recovered three hostages in a deplorable state, and with Hamas announcing that they will halt the release of those captured for Israeli violations, now a kibbutz has reported that an elderly Hebrew man, taken hostage by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, has been declared dead, according to Afp.
"With great sorrow, the kibbutz members received this morning the news of the murder of our dear friend Shlomo Mansour, 86, who was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Kissufim during the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7," the community stated about the man born in Iraq.
Mansur's name is one of the 33 included in the list of hostages to be released during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which is ongoing. The Islamist group has confirmed that eight of the 33 hostages are not alive, but has not specified who they are.
"This is one of the most difficult days in the history of our kibbutz. Shlomo was much more than a community member," said the residents of Kisufim in their statement, which does not mention how or when the hostage lost his life.
The Israeli media Haaretz, citing the Army, said the man died during the attacks on October 7, and his body remains in Gaza since then.
This morning, members of another kibbutz near the Gaza border, Kfar Aza, confirmed that the young twins Gali and Ziv Berman, 27, are alive.
In a message to the kibbutz residents, the Berman family said they know "who has them and how much danger their lives are in," without providing further details.
Meanwhile, relatives of the hostages and activists blocked the main highway connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not jeopardize the ceasefire agreement and immediately send a delegation to Doha to negotiate the second phase.
Hamas announced that they will pause the sixth hostage release, scheduled for this Saturday, until further notice, citing repeated "violations" of the agreement by Israel, such as delaying the return of Gazans to the northern part of the Strip or preventing sufficient aid from entering the enclave.
President Donald Trump stated that Israel "can do whatever it deems necessary" if Hamas does not release the hostages on Saturday, a message that the Israeli far-right has used to demand that Netanyahu return to combat.