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Hamas Frees 20 Hostages in U.S.-Brokered Deal as Israel Releases Nearly 2,000 Detainees

Attention now turns to medical evaluations for the returning hostages.

Overview

  • Nvidia engineer Avinatan Or was freed after roughly two years in Gaza and reunited with partner Noa Argamani, with the IDF sharing a photo of their meeting.
  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told employees that Or was handed to the Red Cross in Gaza and welcomed him home in a letter praising staff support for his family.
  • Medical assessments and Israeli media reports say Or endured solitary confinement and lost an estimated 30–40% of his body weight during captivity.
  • Among those released was Evyatar David, who had appeared in widely condemned footage looking emaciated; his father said captors later tried to feed him up before release.
  • Families described harsh and varied conditions for other freed hostages, including time chained in tunnels, reports of torture, and in some cases limited interactions with captors.