CBS News
Fifth group of hostages released after Israel and Hamas agree to extend cease-fire
Twelve more hostages who were held in Gaza were released on Tuesday, according to the Red Cross and the Israel Defense Forces, after a humanitarian pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel was extended on Monday for an additional 48 hours. Red Cross representatives transferred the 12 hostages to Egypt, the IDF said.
In exchange, 30 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons — 15 minors and 15 women, Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement.
The announcement came after dozens of Israeli hostages and more than 100 Palestinian prisoners were released on Monday and over the weekend, including the first American hostage released by Hamas, 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan. The Israeli-American girl was also the youngest American being held hostage.
On Monday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed a two-day extension of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which began on Friday and was initially set to last four days, as part of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas negotiated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt. It hinged on Hamas’ pledge to release at least 50 women and children taken captive in Israel on Oct. 7, and Israel’s pledge to release at least 150 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons. Israel also agreed to adhere to a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
The temporary pause in fighting was the first since Israel declared war on Hamas in the aftermath of militants’ deadly rampage on Oct. 7, which Israeli officials have said killed 1,200 people. Hamas kidnapped an estimated 240 people from Israel and held them captive in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’ rampage, according to the officials.
Mediating country Qatar announced that Israel and Hamas had reached a deal to extend the cease-fire for another 48 hours on Monday, ahead of the original deal’s expected expiration at 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning. Israel had previously said it would be willing to extend the cease-fire in Gaza, much of which has been decimated by Israeli military airstrikes in the wake of Oct. 7, if Hamas agreed to free additional hostages. Israel had said it would honor an additional day of the cease-fire for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas.
On Monday, Kirby said at a news briefing that Hamas had agreed to release 20 additional hostages over the two-day extension that followed. He said there was also work being done to further extend the cease-fire.
The Israeli government released a list of 50 more Palestinian prisoners that it said could be released as part of continued exchanges. A spokesperson for the Israeli government, Eylon Levy, told the media on Tuesday that “the current hostage release pause can be extended for another five days on the basis of the three for one swap,” meaning three Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israel for every hostage released by Hamas.
“Once Hamas stops returning hostages, we will resume the military pressure on Hamas until it releases more of them,” Levy said.
The hostages released by Hamas since Friday have so far been women and children. The militant group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel, told CBS News on Monday that it was interested in negotiating another deal that would further extend the cease-fire and include the release of male hostages and abducted Israeli soldiers.
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday that CIA Director William Burns was in Doha for meetings on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including discussion about the hostages.
Israel says around 170 people remain captive in Gaza, but Hamas says some of them are being held by other groups. The Biden administration says it will work on securing more extensions to the cease-fire until all the hostages are released.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.