Liat Beinin Atzili: US citizen among 16 Hamas hostages released

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."

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. Her husband Aviv remains in Hamas captivity in Gaza.

"It is crucial to remember that, while we celebrate Liat's release, her husband, Aviv, along with more than 100 hostages remains in capacity," Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan said in a statement sent to the BBC.

Mr Dayan also called for the release of Mrs Atzili's Yad Vashem colleague Alex Dancyg, a historian and Holocaust educator taken from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October.

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.

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, including Liat's husband Aviv".

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."

-bbc