(NAIROBI, Kenya) — As cute and confident as Pardamat now seems, the little elephant had a difficult start to life.
“Pardamat was found next to the dead body of his mother,” Edwin Lusichi, head keeper at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s nursery in Nairobi, Kenya, where Pardamat is being cared for, told ABC News. “His mother had a big wound that had been caused by human beings.”
The story is similar for many elephants across the country — victims of what’s known as “human-wildlife conflict,” which has surpassed poaching as the No. 1 cause of illegal elephant death in Kenya, according to conservation groups.
Conservation groups say the growing human population, combined with drought and resource scarcity linked to climate change, are increasingly causing people and elephants to compete for things like space, food and water.
A common scenario involves elephants raiding and destroying crops in search of food. Some vulnerable farmers, desperate to protect their livelihoods, retaliate by spearing the elephants.
“The shopping malls, the roads, have been built on lands that used to belong to elephants and their migration routes,” Lusichi said. “So the resources are not there for humans and wildlife, and so animals are forced to get into human properties.”
According to some conservation groups, the issue has been exacerbated by the proliferation of new commercial farms growing crops like avocados for the West and China.
Every year, hundreds of people around the world are killed or injured by elephants due to conflict between humans and elephants, conversation groups said.
In southern Kenya, such conflict has become so common that some rangers now patrol farmlands on a nightly basis.
“On a busy night, on a dry season, even 20 elephants can come and raid,” Daniel Kutata, a ranger for the nonprofit conservation organization Big Life Foundation, told ABC News. “Farmers will be losing their crops, which they are depending on to earn a living, so yeah, there is a lot of pressure. We need both farmers and elephants to be safe.”
Big Life has installed an electric fence to help keep elephants within their protected areas. The organization reports that this initiative has significantly improved the situation, although some elephants have learned how to get around it.
A Maasai farmer who spoke to ABC News shortly after his tomato farm was raided told us he lost months of hard work and approximately $4,000 — that’s about eight times the average monthly salary in Kenya.
Save the Elephants, a research and conservation organization headquartered in Nairobi, has been working with local farmers to develop creative solutions to the problem.
ABC News spoke with farmer Jonas Makima, who nearly gave up on his business due to elephants raiding his crops.
“If an elephant gets onto the farm and raids everything, then it means now, you’ll not have food for the family, you’ll not have money for education for my children,” Makima said.
Makima told ABC News that during crop season, every night is a battle. He has set up all sorts of contraptions around his farm to keep the elephants away, including a watch tower, a sound cannon, and “chili bombs.”
However, Makima said his most effective tool is his beehive fence. A project by Save the Elephants found that elephants avoid crops up to 86% of the time during peak seasons because they are terrified of bees.
With Kenya’s population expected to double by 2070, Makima is now working with Save the Elephants to teach farmers across Africa that peaceful coexistence between people and elephants is possible with the right tools.
“People need to be educated, people need to know what to do when they encounter these animals in their farms,” Lusichi said. “And people need to know that these animals also have a right to life, a right to their space, so these habitats should not be invaded and occupied and used by people.”
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip. A latest round of peace talks to end the 15-month-old war has resumed in Qatar, with high-level delegations traveling to Doha.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Qatar expecting ceasefire deal ‘soon’
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a Tuesday briefing that participants in the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha are close to a ceasefire deal.
“We expect the agreement to be announced soon,” the spokesperson said during the press conference.
Qatar is a key mediator between Israel and Hamas and has hosted several rounds of ceasefire talks in the capital Doha.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
61 Palestinians killed in Gaza as ceasefire talks continue
The Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday that Israel Defense Forces strikes killed at least 61 Palestinians in the previous 24 hours and injured 281 more in the Hamas-run territory.
The total number of Palestinians killed since the war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, is now 46,645 with 110,012 people injured, according to the ministry.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Hamas says Gaza talks are in ‘final stages’
Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that ceasefire, prisoner and hostage release talks with Israel are in their “final stages,” adding it hopes “that this round of negotiations will end with a clear and comprehensive agreement.”
In a statement posted to the group’s website, Hamas said it held meetings and consultations with leaders of other Palestinian factions regarding the progress made in ongoing negotiations in Doha, Qatar.
“During these contacts, the leaders of the forces and factions expressed their satisfaction with the course of the negotiations, stressing the need for general national preparation for the next stage and its requirements,” Hamas said.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
Israel hoping for ceasefire announcement ‘soon,’ official says
An Israeli government official told ABC News on Tuesday morning they “hope we can announce something soon” regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza.
The official said there had been “real progress” on every part of the negotiation in the last few days.
The official added that Hamas has changed and they are no longer “dictating” the terms, but are negotiating. “We are close, but not there yet,” they said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Sirens sound in central Israel after projectile launched from Yemen: IDF
A projectile was fired from Yemen towards Israel, the IDF said in a release early Tuesday morning local time.
Sirens were sounded in a number of areas in central Israel, the IDF said.
Latest on hostages in ceasefire deal
Thirty-three hostages, living and dead, are expected to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, according to a person with direct knowledge of the ongoing negotiations.
There are 94 abductees remaining in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead, according to Israeli officials.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
‘Real chance’ of ceasefire success, source says
A source close to the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar told ABC News that Israel is waiting for Hamas to approve moving into a final “closing round of negotiations,” adding there is a “real chance” for a “breakthrough” after a diplomatic blitz in Doha this weekend.
“We still have ahead of us a closing round of negotiations,” the source added
Reuters reported Monday that mediators in Qatar handed both Israel and Hamas a final draft of the ceasefire proposal, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.
Reuters reported that the official said a breakthrough was reached after talks between Steve Witkoff — President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy — the Qatari prime minister and Israeli spy chiefs.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, meanwhile, said Monday “there is progress,” and that the situation “looks much better than previously.”
“I don’t want to say more than that because I realize there are families and they are sensitive to every word, and every sentence,” Saar added. “I hope that within a short time we will see things happening, but it is still to be proved.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
Far-right minister says potential Gaza ceasefire deal represents ‘catastrophe’
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he will not support the potential Gaza ceasefire deal currently being negotiated in Qatar, describing it as “a catastrophe for the national security of Israel.”
“We will not be part of a surrender deal that would include releasing arch terrorists, stopping the war and destroying its achievements that were bought with much blood and abandoning many hostages,” Smotrich wrote in a post to X on Monday.
“Now is the time to continue with all our might, to occupy and cleanse the entire strip, to finally take control of humanitarian aid from Hamas and to open the gates of hell on Gaza until Hamas surrenders completely and all the hostages are returned.”
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Netanyahu spoke with Biden on ceasefire and hostage deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Sunday about progress in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage deal.
A senior White House administration official confirmed the call to ABC News.
“The Prime Minister discussed with the US President the progress in negotiations for the release of our hostages, and updated him on the mandate he gave to the negotiating delegation to Doha, in order to promote the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu’s office wrote in a release about the call.
According to the White House, Biden and Netanyahu “discussed the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.”
The call comes as Brett McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is in the Middle East for negotiations. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that McGurk is there to hammer out the “final details” of an agreement.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Michelle Stoddart
100 days of Israel’s north Gaza assault
Sunday marked 100 days since the Israel Defense Forces launched its military operation in northern Gaza, with the toll of dead and missing Palestinians now at 5,000 people, according to a report published by the Gaza media office in the Hamas-run territory.
Some 9,500 more people have been injured and 2,600 have been detained including women and children, the report said.
Israel continues striking targets across the strip. Over the last 24 hours, IDF attacks killed 24 Palestinians, according to data published by the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The report added that 46,565 Palestinians have been killed by Israel throughout Gaza since the war began in October 2023, with another 109,660 people injured.
Israeli attacks in the north of Gaza have targeted civilian infrastructures and hospitals, which combined with a siege of the area have worsened a humanitarian crisis there.
Calling for an end to the war, the Gaza media office report urged the international community — including the UN — to take immediate action to stop the assault and address the humanitarian crisis in the strip.
Israeli strikes on Gaza continued as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched senior negotiators to Qatar for ceasefire, prisoner and hostage release talks attended by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East adviser, Steven Witkoff, and President Joe Biden’s outgoing adviser, Brett McGurk.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Jordana Miller
High-level delegations gather in Doha for Gaza talks
For the first time in months, Israeli sources are expressing cautious optimism that a Gaza ceasefire may be within reach before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Officials close to the matter told ABC News on Sunday that a high-level Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad — David Barnea — arrived in Doha, Qatar, for a critical round of talks.
Others participating are Egyptian and U.S. officials including President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East adviser, Steven Witkoff, and President Joe Biden’s outgoing adviser, Brett McGurk.
Witkoff made a surprise visit to Israel Saturday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, progress on some issues has been made — including the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released and the details of the Israel Defense Forces’ redeployment.
But some outstanding issues remain, including whether Hamas can provide Israel with a list of hostages who are alive. A Hamas official told Saudi media on Saturday that the group is ready to show flexibility.
The first phase of the deal is expected to last six to eight weeks, as the report suggests. A leaked hostage list by Hamas shows the names of two Americans to be released in the first phase. Seven Americans are among the 94 hostages, three of whom are presumed to still be alive.
(SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINCAN REPUBLIC) — A University of Pittsburgh student who was reported missing after traveling to the Dominican Republic last week is believed to have died by drowning, officials confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.
The student has been identified as Sudiksha Konanki, a legal permanent resident of the United States and an Indian citizen. She was one of six female students traveling in Punta Cana, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Konanki and one of the other students were Loudoun County, Virginia, residents, the sheriff’s office said.
Three Dominican officials involved in the investigation told ABC News that Konanki was walking on the beach with six people on March 5 before she is believed to have drowned in the ocean.
At some point, most of the group went back to the hotel during the night, but one person stayed with her on the beach, according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report.
She and this person went for a swim and were caught by a big wave, the police report said.
The last time Konanki was seen on the beach on security camera footage was around 4:15 a.m. on March 6, the Dominican Republic Public Ministry told ABC News.
The Public Ministry was first contacted by the U.S. embassy in the Dominican Republic the next day, on March 7, the Ministry said.
Officials said the missing student’s friends with her close to the time of her disappearance have been questioned by police and have not been charged with anything.
(LONDON) — A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect on Sunday morning. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be freed in the first phase of the deal.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Israel to stay in southern Lebanon beyond ceasefire deadline
Israeli troops will remain in Lebanon beyond Sunday, when it was required to withdraw as per its November ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.
“The outline for the ceasefire in Lebanon stipulates that the IDF’s phased withdrawal should be implemented within 60 days. The clause was worded this way with the understanding that the withdrawal process may continue beyond 60 days,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Friday.
“The IDF’s withdrawal process is conditional on the Lebanese Army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani. Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the State of Lebanon, the phased withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States. The State of Israel will not endanger its communities and citizens and will insist on the full implementation of the goal of the fighting in the north — the safe return of residents to their homes,” Netanyahu said.
On Thursday, the Lebanese army said it is ready to deploy to the country’s south after the Israeli army withdraws from the region.
Jenin will be a ‘different place’ after Israeli operation, IDF chief says
The Israel Defense Forces are not stopping their operation in Jenin, in the West Bank, with more raids reported overnight Thursday.
“We need to be prepared to continue in the Jenin camp that will bring it to a different place — we are denying the enemy opportunities to harm our forces,” LT. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of the general staff, said on Thursday.
Israel says there is ‘much more work to do’ in Lebanon
While the Israeli government said there have been “positive movements” where the Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon have taken control from Hezbollah forces, there is still work to be done, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told ABC News.
“There is much more work to do. Israel has made clear that they wish for this agreement to endure. Israel will certainly enforce this agreement as well as adhering to this agreement. But the movements have not been fast enough,” Mencer said.
Lebanese army says it’s ready to deploy to the south
The Lebanese army said it is ready to deploy to the country’s south after the Israeli army withdraws from the region, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement signed last year.
Civilians should not yet return to areas that Israel is withdrawing from, and should continue to follow the instructions of the military units until deployment ends, the Lebanese army said. Specialized units will still need to clear areas of mines and suspicious objects left by Israeli forces, the Lebanese army said.
Lebanese military units completed their deployment at several points in the town of Kfar Shuba, Hasbaya, in the eastern sector after the withdrawal of the Israeli troops.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon also said it is ready to support the Lebanese army after Israel withdraws.
Israel is required by the ceasefire to withdraw by Sunday.
At least 10 killed as Israel continues operation in Jenin
At least 10 Palestinians were killed and 40 injured as Israel continues a large operation in Jenin, turning its focus to the West Bank.
Israel launched a “significant” operation to “eradicate terrorism in Jenin,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Wednesday.
“This is another step towards achieving the goal we set — strengthening security in Judea and Samaria. We are acting systematically and resolutely against the Iranian axis wherever it extends its arms — in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria — and with our hands still outstretched,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
4 injured in Tel Aviv stabbing attack
At least four people were injured in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency services organization, said in a release.
Two men, ages 28 and 24, are being treated with upper-body stab wounds and are in moderate condition. Two other patients, ages 24 and 59, are in mild condition, the MDA said.
The injured are being taken to Ichilov Hospital.
The stabbing occurred on Nahalat Binyamin Street in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said. The attacker has been killed by police, the spokesperson’s unit added.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Nasser Atta
At least 21 Palestinians injured in West Bank settler violence
At least 21 Palestinians were injured, 11 severely, after dozens of Israeli civilians, some of whom were masked, arrived at the area of Al Funduq, in the West Bank, and “instigated riots, set property on fire and caused damage,” according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Three homes were burned down and five cars were torched as well, the IDF said.
The civilians hurled rocks and attacked the security forces dispatched to the scene, according to the IDF.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz, despite freeing settlers who committed the same types of crimes, said he condemns the violence.
Over 1,500 aid trucks entered Gaza on day 1 and 2 of ceasefire, UN says
More than 1,500 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip in the first two days of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
That includes more than 630 trucks on Sunday and 915 trucks on Monday, according to OCHA. Of the ones that crossed into Gaza on Sunday, OCHA said at least 300 trucks went to the north, which the U.N. has warned is facing imminent famine.
OCHA cited “information received through engagement with Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement.”
“There is no time to lose,” the U.N.’s aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement Monday. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
IDF says riots in the West Bank have dispersed
Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police Forces were dispatched to Al Funduq in the West Bank after reports of rioting in the area, the IDF said on Monday.
The alleged incident occurred shortly after Israel’s defense minister released all settlers being detained under administrative detention orders, though it cannot be certain that any of those settlers were involved in the reported riots. ABC News was able to confirm that fires had ignited in that location.
Shortly thereafter, the IDF confirmed that it had successfully dispersed rioters.
There have been no confirmed reports as to the extent of the damage or any injuries. Israeli officials are expected to conduct a formal inquiry in the area tonight.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Israeli forces recover body of fallen soldier in Gaza
Israeli forces recovered the body of Oron Shaul, an Israel Defense Forces soldier who was killed in 2014, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF announced Monday.
Shaul was killed during a battle in Gaza on July 30, 2014, and his body had been held by Hamas for the past 10 years, the IDF said.
“The recovery of Staff Sergeant, Oron Shaul’s body, was made possible due to a decade-long ongoing intelligence effort, which intensified during the war,” the IDF wrote in a statement about the operation on Monday.
Netanyahu spoke with Oron Shaul’s mother, Zehava Shaul, after the operation was successfully completed, a statement from his office said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Jordan Miller
Next hostage exchange expected to take place Saturday
Both Israel and Hamas have confirmed the next hostage release will take place on Saturday.
A senior Israeli official confirmed the deal must take place on Jan. 25, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement. Hamas confirmed the date, saying “the second batch of prisoner exchange will take place on the scheduled date.”
Three hostages, all Israeli women, were released on Sunday, while 90 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel in exchange.
Houthis say attacks on Israeli shipping will continue
Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea to only Israel-affiliated ships, signaling a temporary easing of their broader assault on commercial vessels.
The decision coincided with the ceasefire and hostage-release deal agreed between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on Sunday.
The announcement was made via an email sent to shipping companies by the Houthi Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, the Associated Press reported.
Attacks on Israeli-linked vessels will end “upon the full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire, the Houthis said, adding that attacks on U.S.- or U.K.-linked shipping may resume if the two nations continue airstrikes in Yemen.
The Houthis have targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, significantly affecting global shipping, particularly through Egypt’s Suez Canal.
The Houthis have also attacked American and allied military shipping in the region, plus launched drone and ballistic missile strikes into Israel.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
10,000 bodies may be under Gaza rubble, Civil Defense says
The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza said there could be as many as 10,000 bodies buried under rubble all across the strip, as many displaced Gazans try to return to their homes under a nascent ceasefire agreement.
The Civil Defense said in a post to Telegram that 10,000 missing people are believed to be “under the rubble of destroyed homes, buildings and facilities.” They are not counted in the 38,300 fatalities listed by the Civil Defense since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Gaza Ministry of Health — which has separately tracked deaths during the conflict — said on Sunday that 46,913 people had been killed in the Hamas-run territory during the war with Israel.
The Civil Defense said Israeli forces prevented its crews from accessing large areas of the strip during the fighting, “where there are hundreds of bodies” that have not yet been recovered.
The Civil Defense called for the entry of foreign rescue workers “to support us in carrying out our duty to deal with the catastrophic reality left behind by the war, which exceeds the capacity of the civil defense apparatus in the Gaza Strip.”
The organization called on Gazans to assist rescuers “with all necessary capabilities, including rescue, firefighting, and ambulance vehicles and equipment, as well as heavy machinery and equipment that will help us retrieve the bodies of martyrs from under the rubble of thousands of destroyed buildings and homes.”
Freed hostage is ‘happiest girl in the world,’ mother says Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari — who was among the three Israeli captives freed from Gaza on Sunday — released a statement thanking all those involved in her daughter’s release “from the bottom of my heart.”
“Yesterday, I was finally able to give Emily the hug that I have been dreaming of,” Mandy said in a statement shared by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
“I am relieved to report that after her release, Emily is doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated,” she added.
“In Emily’s own words, she is the happiest girl in the world; she has her life back,” Mandy said.
“In this incredibly happy moment for our family, we must also remember that 94 other hostages still remain,” she added. “The ceasefire must continue and every last hostage must be returned to their families.”
-ABC News’ Anna Burd
Red Cross details ‘complex’ hostage release operation
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that Sunday’s operation to collect three freed Israeli hostages from Gaza “was complex, requiring rigorous security measures to minimize the risks to those involved.”
“Navigating large crowds and heightened emotions posed challenges during the transfers and in Gaza, ICRC teams had to manage the dangers posed by unexploded ordnances and destroyed infrastructure,” the ICRC said in a Monday statement.
“More families are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to come home,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said. “We call on all parties to continue to adhere to their commitments to ensure the next operations can take place safely.”
The ICRC also stressed that “urgently needed humanitarian assistance must enter Gaza, where civilians have struggled for months to access food, drinkable water and shelter.”
Released Palestinian prisoners arrive in the West Bank amid high tensions
Tensions were high as people waited in Beitunia, in the West Bank, for the arrival of the 90 Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israeli custody just after 1 a.m. local time.
Israeli forces used cars and tear gas to attempt to clear the roads, ABC News reporters on the scene said.
ABC News’ team saw flash bangs where people were gathered waiting for the prisoners’ release.
Israeli Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the matter.
The prisoners were released from Ofer Prison in Ramallah, West Bank, as a part of the hostage exchange and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
People were seen on top of the buses waving flags and chanting as the prisoners arrived in Beitunia at approximately 1:42 a.m.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, as well as Tom Soufi Burridge and Hugo Leenhardt in the West Bank
Photos show 3 Israeli former hostages reunited with their mothers
Photos were released by Israeli officials on Sunday showing the three released hostages hugging their mothers as they were reunited.
The images showed former hostages Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, all sharing emotional embraces with their mothers.