Hamas freed 11 more Israeli hostages — nine children and two mothers — Monday, including three with ties to New York City.
The Israeli military confirmed that the nearly dozen kidnap victims had been handed over to the Red Cross and are back in Israel.
The hostages were expected to be freed in exchange for 33 Palestinian prisoners from Israel.
The newly freed hostages were identified as Sharon Cunio, 33, and her 3-year-old twins Emma and Yuli; Karina Engel, 51, and her two daughters Mika, 18, and Yuval, 10; 16-year-old Amit Shani; brother and sister Sahar, 16, and Erez Calderon, 12; and brothers Or, 16, and Yigil Yaakov, 12, the Times of Israel reported.
They will undergo medical assessments, with Israeli soldiers set to escort them until they are finally reunited with their families after being trapped in Gaza for seven weeks, the IDF said.
Despite White House optimism that two American women might be included in the latest batch of hostages freed from Gaza, officials confirmed that no one with US citizenship was released Monday.
“We do not believe that there are Americans in this group coming out today,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN.
Hostages Sharon Aloni-Cunio, 34, Emma Cunio, 3, and Yuli Cunio, 3 were among the freed hostages. via REUTERSThe rep said the White House still hopes the women will be among those freed in the next few days, after the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was extended through Wednesay.
“We’re working on this, literally by the hour,” Kirby said.
Among the hostages freed Monday were three members of the Cunio family, who were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Oz on Oct. 7. Sharon’s husband, David, 34, was also abducted and remains under Hamas’ custody in Gaza.
The family had been hosting their relatives – Danielle Aloni, 44, and her 5-year-old daughter Amelia – when Hamas broke into their home and kidnapped the family. Aloni and Amelia were among the first group released by Hamas Friday.
Relative Alana Zeitchik of New York City called the release of Sharon and her children the family’s “second miracle.”
“Sharon and our babies Emma and Yuli are on their way home. To see them being carried out of there is an indescribable feeling,” Zeitchik wrote on Instagram. “Slowly our hearts are mending. However, David and his brother Ariel remain in captivity, so we still need our third miracle.”
Zeitchik had created the “Bring Our Family Home” Instagram account to plead with the Biden administration to help broker the loved ones’ freedom.
Hostage Roni Kirboy (right) was among the group of 17 people released Sunday. via REUTERS
Yuli Cunio, 3, and Emma Cunio, 3, who were released after being taken hostage. via REUTERS
Sahar Kalderon, 16, who was released after being taken hostage during the October 7 attack. via REUTERS
Or Jacob, 16, was a hostage. via REUTERS
Erez Kalderon, 12, was returned to his family. via REUTERS
Another child Eitan Yahalomi, 12, was released. via REUTERS
Yuval Engel, 11, who was released after being taken hostage. via REUTERS
Mika Engel, 18, was taken as a hostage in October. via REUTERSThe Calderon siblings have also seen their family call on America’s help, with their aunt, Abbey Onn of Massachusetts, pleading for their safe return since the war began.
Onn said the siblings, along with four other relatives, were taken from Nir Oz on Oct. 7 as family members received messages of the Hamas invasion.
Amit Shani, 16, who was released after being taken hostage during the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas. via REUTERS
Yagil Jacob, 12, was released from hostages. via REUTERS“We last heard from them on WhatsApp in the middle of the day on [that] Saturday,” Onn told CBS. “We got messages throughout the morning that Hamas was in the kibbutz, that there was gunfire, and that they were in their homes, that they had overturned everything in their house and that they were afraid for their lives.”
Karina Engelbert, 51, was taken by Palestinian militant group Hamas in October but is now released. via REUTERSOnn recently appeared on Fox News to call on Hamas to release all the children currently being held in Gaza and for Israel to do whatever it can to make such a deal possible.
“Children have no part in war, so if this deal allows for the children being held hostage … to come home and begin healing from the trauma, I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Onn said.
Hostages Emma Cunio, 3, and Yuli Cunio, 3, who were abducted by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack on Israel, are handed over. via REUTERS
Hostages are handed over by Hamas. via REUTERS
Young hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack are handed back over to Israel. via REUTERS
The hostages have been held captive by Hamas for over 50 days. via REUTERS
Armed Hamas terrorists handed over 9 nine children who were taken hostage on Oct. 7. via REUTERSThe temporary pause in fighting has paved the way for the hostage-prisoner swap, which has prioritized the release of women and children. American 4-year-old Abigail Edan was released Sunday — the first US citizen to be freed during the cease-fire.
If the two American women are freed this week, they would be the fourth and fifth US citizens released by Hamas since the start of the war.
IDF footage revealed the moment the hostages were back on Israeli territory. IDF
The 11 were captured during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack. IDF
The freed hostages will be checked out at a hospital before being reunited with loved ones. IDF
Hamas has released 58 hostages so far, with another 11 set free Monday. Hamas Press Service/UPI/ShutterstockUS officials believe Hamas is also holding several American men hostage in Gaza and that they are likely not to be included in the current swaps.
With the cease-fire deal extended for two more days, Hamas has agreed to release a total of at least 20 more hostages, with Israel agreeing to free one Palestinian prisoner per hostage.
As of Sunday, Hamas had released 58 hostages, including 40 Israeli citizens and 18 foreign nationals. On the Israeli side, officials have released 117 women and minors from its prisons.
The total Palestinian prisoners freed included 28 women, two teenage girls and 87 teenage males. At least 76 of the prisoners did not know what the charges against them were, according to CNN.
The hostages are being released to the Red Cross in southern Gaza. Hamas Press Service/UPI/ShutterstockThe latest batch of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released includes three women and 30 teenage males, Hamas officials said.
Israel currently estimates that Hamas has about 198 people held captive in Gaza, about 20 of them foreign nationals. The estimates could not be independently verified.



