Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys

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But relief has been tempered -- among Israelis by the fact that not all hostages will be freed and among Palestinians by the briefness of the pause. The short truce leaves Gaza mired in humanitarian crisis and under the threat that fighting could soon resume.

Netanyahu has also vowed to continue the war to destroy Hamas' military capabilities, end its 16-year rule in Gaza and return all the hostages. Meanwhile, specialised equipment has been deployed to the derailment area to conduct air monitoring. Molten sulphur is known to release sulphur dioxide when it burns, CSX said. As a Palestinian, my heart is broken for my brothers in Gaza, so I can't really celebrate," said Abdulqader Khatib, a U.N. worker whose 17-year-old son, Iyas, was freed. "But I am a father. And deep inside, I am very happy." But Israel has vowed to resume its massive offensive once the truce ends. That has clouded hopes that the deal could eventually help wind down the conflict, which has fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people are crowded into the southern portion of the territory, with more than 1 million living in U.N. schools-turned-shelters. The calm brought a chance for displaced residents of the south to visit homes and retrieve some belongings.But hours before it came into effect, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops that their respite would be short and that the war would resume with intensity for at least two more months.

Iyas had been taken last year into "administrative detention," without charges or trial and based on secret evidence. Israel often holds detainees for months without charges. Most of those who are tried are put before military courts that almost never acquit defendants and often don't follow due process, human rights groups say. After nightfall Friday, a line of ambulances emerged from Gaza through the Rafah Crossing into Egypt carrying the freed hostages, as seen live on Egypt's state-run Al-Qahera TV. The freed Israelis included nine women and four children 9 and under. One member of the train’s two-person crew was treated at the scene for minor injuries, WKYT reported. It added that according to the state’s emergency management officials no one was hospitalised. Hours later, 24 Palestinian women and 15 teenagers held in Israeli prisons in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem were freed. In the West Bank town of Beituna, hundreds of Palestinians poured out of their homes to celebrate, honking horns and setting off fireworks that lite up the nights sky.During the truce, Israel agreed to allow the delivery of 130,000 liters (34,340 gallons) of fuel per day -- still only a small portion of Gaza's estimated daily needs of more than 1 million liters.

Yael Adar spotted her mother, 85-year-old Yaffa Adar, in a TV newscast of the release and was cheered to see her walking. "That was a huge concern, what would happen to her health during these almost two months," she told Israel's Channel 12. Israel says the cease-fire could be extended if more hostages are released, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it had received a new list of hostages to be released by Hamas on Saturday.Two of the cars spilled molten sulphur and sparked a fire that continued to burn as of 7.30am on Thursday, CSX said in an update. We don't have enough clothes, food and drinks," he said. "The situation is disastrous. It's better for a person to die." The Israeli offensive has killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza government. Women and minors have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead, though the latest number was not broken down. The figure does not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north, where communications have broken down. CSX said it would provide Thanksgiving dinner for residents, along with other food, lodging and other necessities..

But the hundreds of thousands who evacuated from northern Gaza to the south were warned not to return in leaflets dropped by Israel. Israeli troops hold much of the north, including Gaza City. The hostages included multiple generations. Nine-year-old Ohad Munder-Zichri was freed along with his mother, Keren Munder, and grandmother Ruti Munder. The fourth-grader was abducted during a holiday visit to his grandparents at the kibbutz where about 80 people -- nearly a quarter of all residents of the small community -- are believed to have been taken hostage. The hope is that "momentum" from the deal will lead to an "end to this violence," said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which served as a mediator along with the United States and Egypt.People react as they hear the news of the release of 13 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)