6 American prisoners in Kuwait released, land back in US, representative says
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(NEW YORK) — Six Americans who were imprisoned in Kuwait have been released in an agreement with the United States, a representative for their families confirmed to ABC News.
The Americans, many of whom are veterans and former military contractors, were convicted on drug charges, Jonathan Franks, a crisis management consultant, said.
For years, however, the prisoners have “vigorously” maintained their innocence, Franks said.
Several more prisoners are expected to be freed in the coming weeks as part of the agreement, Franks added.
“This morning, the Kuwaiti government released six of my clients as part of an agreement that will ultimately free fifteen of my clients in short order. Each was convicted on drug charges, and each vigorously maintains their innocence,” Franks said.
Convictions for possession of drugs in Kuwait may include long jail sentences or the death penalty, according to an advisory by the U.S. State Department.
According to the U.S. Embassy of Kuwait website, American citizens are subject to Kuwait’s laws and regulations. Those laws can “differ significantly from those in the United States,” and the U.S. government may only be able to offer limited assistance to those charged, the website says.
Kuwait is a small Middle Eastern country borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The prisoners’ release comes amid President Donald Trump’s emphasis on freeing Americans held abroad.
“President Trump has made it a priority to bring home Americans detained overseas. We are pleased that Kuwait released Americans from prison,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
“Kuwait is a vital ally in the region, and we look forward to continuing to work with Kuwait and other partners in these efforts across the world,” the spokesperson added.
In February, three prisoners, including an unnamed American and a journalist dubbed a political prisoner, were released from Belarus.
(LONDON) — Hamas handed over four bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza on Thursday, in the latest return of deceased hostages as part of the group’s ceasefire deal with Israel.
Red Cross officials took custody of four black coffins during a ceremony in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. A Red Cross official and a Hamas commander appeared on a stage to sign documents as part of the handover. The coffins were also brought onto the stage.
A banner on the stage declared in both Arabic and English: “The Return of War = The Return of Your Prisoners in Coffins.”
In a joint statement, the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency said that, “According to information communicated by the Red Cross, four caskets of deceased hostages were transferred to them, and they are being taken to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip.”
An Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News that an IDF-held ceremony for the four deceased hostages took place in the IDF-controlled Gaza buffer zone before the coffins were brought across the border into Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement confirming Israel’s receipt of the bodies. “The families of the abductees have been informed and our hearts go out to them at this difficult time,” the statement said.
“The public is asked to respect the families’ privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and information that is not official and well-founded,” it added.
Israel and Hamas have confirmed the names of the four bodies that are set to be returned to Israel Thursday: Oded Lifshitz, a journalist and peace activist and Shiri Bibas and her two children — Ariel and Kfir Bibas. Once the bodies are back in Israel, the Israeli officials will conduct forensic analysis to confirm the identities of the bodies.
During the handover, Hamas released a statement that read in part, “To the families of Bibas and Lifshitz: We would have preferred your sons to return to you alive, but your army and government leaders chose to kill them instead of bringing them back.”
“They killed with them: 17,881 Palestinian children, in their criminal bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and we know that you know who is truly responsible for their departure,” the statement added. “You were the victim of a leadership that does not care about its children.”
Kfir Bibas was 8 1/2 months old when he was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 — the youngest of the 251 hostages taken on the day the group carried out its terror attack on Israel — the worst in the country’s history. In the ensuing war, more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
Oded Lifshitz’s wife, Yocheved, was among the first few hostages released during the first ceasefire agreement in November 2023. Sixty-nine hostages remain in Gaza after Thursday’s release.
“At this difficult time, our hearts go out to the grieving families,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
The Hostage Families Forum called for the second stage of the three-stage ceasefire to proceed, saying there is “no time to waste.” In the second phase of the ceasefire agreement — which should last 42 days — Israel is to completely withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Israel also agreed to a permanent cessation of all military operations and hostilities before all remaining Israeli hostages, civilians and soldiers are released by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
“We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us. This news cuts like a knife through our hearts, the families’ hearts and the hearts of people all over the world,” the families of the hostages said in a statement Wednesday.
“We grieve not only for them, but for the other precious lives lost, including four more deceased hostages who will be returned next week,” families of hostages said.
Six other hostages are expected to be released on Saturday and four more bodies will be returned to Israel next week. The hostages who will be released on Saturday have been identified as Eliya Cohen, 27; Tal Shoham, 40; Omer Shem Tov, 22; Omer Wenkrat, 23; Hisham Al-Sayed, 36; and Avera Mengistu, 39, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Negotiations to set the terms for the second phase of the ceasefire have not started, but mediators are pushing to have talks begin as soon as possible to allow enough time for discussion before the second phase is expected to begin (the first phase is expected to last 42 days), Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Hamas has accused Israel of avoiding negotiations and says it’s ready to negotiate.
Last week, Hamas threatened to not release hostages over the weekend, saying Israel was not holding up its end of the ceasefire by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.
Hamas later said the exchange would take place as planned and released three hostages this past Saturday.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller contributed to this report.
(DOHA) — A ceasefire deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas, more than 15 months into the conflict.
The Qatari prime minister is expected to speak shortly in Doha on the deal, a Qatari official told ABC News.
According to the Hamas delegation in Doha, the provisions Hamas agreed to include the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi corridor, in stages, and handing over 33 Israeli prisoners, dead and alive, in exchange for the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations would be completed in stages for the release of the remaining hostages, according to the Hamas delegation.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that they resolved an issue over forces on the Philadelphi corridor, though there are several “unresolved clauses” in the deal they hope to finalize Wednesday night.
The provisions also include the opening of the Rafah crossing, according to the Hamas delegation. Coordination is currently underway to open the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing to allow the entry of international aid into Gaza, an Egyptian security source told ABC News.
President Joe Biden is expected to address the deal soon.
President-elect Donald Trump also said a hostage deal has been reached, writing in a Truth Social post, “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”
Trump took credit for what he called an “EPIC” ceasefire agreement, saying it “could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November.” He said his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and U.S. allies to “make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”
The families of seven American hostages in Gaza said they are “deeply grateful” that an agreement for the phased release of hostages has been reached.
“The coming days and weeks will be just as painful for our families as the entirety of our loved ones’ horrific ordeals,” the families said in a statement. “That is why we ask all parties to stay committed to this agreement, every phase until it is fully implemented and everyone has been returned. We feel hopeful that under President Trump’s leadership, every last hostage will come home.”
A new round of ceasefire negotiations began on Jan. 3 in Qatar. Delegations from both Israel and Hamas were dispatched to Doha to resume the negotiations, which were brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The Biden administration also helped broker the talks.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously told reporters the United States wanted a ceasefire deal in Gaza and all remaining captives released before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Blinken on Jan. 6 reported “intensified engagement,” including by Hamas, on reaching a deal, though he added, “We are yet to see agreement on final points.”
“We need Hamas to make the final necessary decisions to complete the agreement and to fundamentally change the circumstance for the hostages, getting them out, for people in Gaza, bringing them relief, and for the region as a whole, creating an opportunity to actually move forward to something better, more secure for everyone involved,” Blinken said at the time.
The deal comes after a ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Hezbollah in November, weeks after Israel invaded southern Lebanon as part of an escalation of its conflict with Hezbollah.
It also follows the high-profile assassinations last year of Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar — with Sinwar being one of the key architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel — as well as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Israel has claimed responsibility for their deaths.
In over a year of war between Israel and Hamas, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza and almost 110,000 injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. However, more than 14,000 children and 8,000 women have been killed, according to the health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they have killed more than 15,000 combatants throughout the course of the war, which was sparked by the unprecedented Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in southern Israel. More than 1,200 people were killed and another 253 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
During a weeklong ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in late November 2023, Hamas freed more than 100 people. In exchange, Israel released more than 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Several hostages in Gaza have also been freed in the months since, while the bodies of others have been recovered.
Amid the renewed negotiations in early January, 94 abductees remained in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead, according to Israeli officials.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion 4th Infantry Skynet team walking through the area of operations during Combined Resolve 25-1at Hohenfels Training Area on Feb. 5, 2025. (U.S. Army Reserve Photo by Spc. Airam B. I Amaro-Millan)
(WASHINGTON) — Nearly three years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. troops in Eastern Europe are using the lessons learned on the battlefields in Ukraine to modernize the Army’s tactics and use of new technologies or what the U.S. Army calls Transformation in Contact.
Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of U.S. military forces were sent to Eastern Europe to reassure NATO countries in the region and to deter Russia from expanding the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders.
What started as a short-duration deployment has now grown to a current level of 23,000 U.S. Army troops maintained by a constant rotation of units on nine-month deployments.
“I have responsibility for (U.S. Army) forces from Estonia, U.S. forces that are stationed in Estonia all the way down to Bulgaria, 23 different foreign operating sites to assure our NATO partners and allies, but more importantly, to deter future Russian aggression.,” Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, the commander of the U.S. Army’s Fifth Corps, told ABC News in an interview. “It’s just a critical time to be here right now.”
The deployment of those U.S. Army forces so close to Ukraine also means that they are able to apply what they are seeing on the country’s battlefields and how to apply it to their own operations.
“There’s not a better place to learn from the conflict in Ukraine than Eastern Europe,” said Costanza. “Our NATO partners are helping with training and equipping the Ukrainians. So we got a direct inject of all those lessons learned that are coming out of Ukraine.”
Those lessons learned include the revolutionary use of small commercially available drones to drop bombs on Russian targets, the development of long-range one-way attack drones, and techniques to evade electronic warfare detection that can be used to target forces on the frontlines by tracking radios and other communications gear.
“The speed of innovation on the SUAS and the counter-SUAS capability is incredible,” said Costanza, using the military acronym for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems used to describe small drones.
“The Ukrainians will develop a new capability for those SUAS, the very next day, the Russians will figure out how to counter that which causes the Ukrainians to have to innovate and adapt very quickly and figure out something else,” he said.
In early February, U.S. Army forces trained for two weeks with other NATO countries in Germany in Combined Resolve, an exercise that is part of the Army’s Transformation in Combat, which uses some of the Army’s new gear and allows soldiers to innovate just like what is happening in Ukraine.
“When they’re in Combined Resolve fighting the opposing force, they’re going to figure out how to make stuff work and innovate while they’re in contact,” said Costanza. “I think the Transformation in Contact effort is just going to speed up how we equip our soldiers now quickly, and how we organize maybe a bit differently.”
For example, soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, a unit permanently stationed in Germany, used 3-D printers to make sensors provided to soldiers that Costanza said could detect drones.
They also used a novel way of communicating by using commercially available technology provided to them to facilitate their radio communications with the Polish forces they were training with who did not speak English.
“To the point where you can pick up a radio and talk to somebody in a Polish unit, and it actually translates what you say into Polish so when it comes out on the Polish radio, the Polish soldier hears it, understands it, and to respond back, and you hear his response in English,” said Costanza.
He praised the ingenuity of young soldiers who “figure out how to make all this work, and bang, you have something that bridges a gap.”
Transformation in Contact is also changing how the Army arranges itself on the battlefield as the U.S. Army shifts away from the large field headquarters seen in Iraq and Afghanistan towards smaller dispersed units that can do the same thing.
The war in Ukraine has shown that large headquarters can be destroyed with missiles because the high levels of electronic signals they emit can be detected by electronic warfare tools.
“Now it’s individual vehicles that are spread out all over the battlefield, much from the electromagnetics spectrum standpoint, the signature is so much smaller, and it’s just harder to figure out what’s a command post and what might just be an individual vehicle,” said Costanza.
“They can actually work distributed like that to have that same common operational picture of what’s going on and to be able to synchronize everything they need to do to win the fight, but without physically being together,” he added.
Also used in the exercise was the Army’s new lightweight all-terrain vehicle, the Infantry Squad Vehicle which can transport as many as nine soldiers on the battlefield.
“You get nine guys on there and all their kit and you can quickly move now and reposition forces in a way that infantry brigades haven’t been able to do in the past. And so it just gives you a lot more capability,” said Costanza.
As the rotation of U.S. Army units in Eastern Europe continues, some of them will have already gone through previous versions of Transformation in Contact exercises carried out in the United States.
Costanza said those units will bring their lessons learned from those exercises and will also innovate with new concepts much as the units they are replacing have been doing during their deployment.
“So, we’re just going to keep learning as we keep fielding this stuff out, and just continuing to get better on how we organize ourselves and how we equip ourselves,” said Costanza.
