Hostage in the Gaza Strip

Austrian will not be released before February

The Austrian-Israeli hostage Tal Shoham

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

Under the latest agreement between Israel and Hamas, 33 hostages are to be released. The Austrian-Israeli dual national Tal Shoham is on this list, but is not expected to return to Israel until mid-February at the earliest.

The 39-year-old was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 together with his wife and two small children in Gaza. Adi, their four-year-old daughter Yahel and nine-year-old son Naveh were released after just a few months. Tal Shoham was born in Israel, his grandmother was a Viennese who was expelled by the Nazis soon after the Anschluss. For several years now, descendants of Holocaust victims have been entitled to an Austrian passport.

It will probably be a few more weeks before the father of the family is released, analyzed the "Kleine Zeitung" newspaper at the weekend. Women and children are the first to be released, followed by the elderly and injured. As reported, three young women were released on Sunday as a first step.

Schallenberg: "Long overdue"
"We are very happy about the release of the first three hostages and the #ceasefire!" wrote Austria's interim chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) on Platform X in English. "This was long overdue and can only be the first step towards the full implementation of the agreement that will lead to the release of all hostages, including Tal Shoham. Much more help needs to reach the people of #Gaza!"

Here you can see the tweet by Alexander Schallenberg.

94 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas, the next handover will take place next Saturday. In return, 1904 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons. The first 90 have already been released from the Ofer military prison in the West Bank and a detention center in Jerusalem. They were in prison for minor offenses such as throwing stones or illegally crossing the border, but also for serious crimes such as murder.