Free Republic

The United States and Russia exchanged prisoners in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, as Washington and Moscow edge toward a diplomatic rapprochement. Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a U.S.-Russian dual national, who was found guilty in Russia for donating a small sum to a U.S.-based Ukrainian charity and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Karelina, a former ballet dancer, became a U.S. citizen in 2021 after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles. In exchange, the U.S. freed Artur Petrov, a German-Russian dual citizen who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of U.S. authorities for allegedly exporting...

TBN Israel's Yair Pinto and Mati Shoshani report on the Israel-Hamas and Iron Swords War. Pinto reports on Netanyahu and Trump's meeting to discuss the Gaza hostage crisis and a potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, the latest Israeli hostage release, and the Rafah Crossing opens for the first time, allowing wounded Gazans and terrorists to leave for Egypt, under strict Israeli supervision. Transcript linked below video.

Three hostages, including one who survived the brutal Nova music festival massacre during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, have been freed after the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal went into effect following hours of uncertainty. Romi Gonen, 23, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 30, were handed over to the Israel Defense Forces by the Red Cross on Sunday after 471 days in captivity. Earlier, Hamas terrorists transferred the women to the aid group’s trucks during a chaotic scene in Gaza.

Hostages expected to be released in the first phase are those who fall under the humanitarian category, such as women, children, elderly or wounded. Hamas confirmed on Sunday that 28-year-old Emily Damari, 23-year-old Romi Gonen, and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher would be released on the first day of phase one of the hostage-ceasefire deal. The deal will see 33 hostages released in the first phase in exchange for the release of security prisoners, humanitarian aid, and an IDF withdrawal from some areas in Gaza. Israel will release 30 Palestinian detainees for every civilian hostage and 50 Palestinian detainees for every Israeli...

As we watch the news from half a world away, we suffer the usual dearth of information where sensitive negotiations are concerned: We want to know which of the hostages is finally being set free, almost 7 months past October 7, and we want to know what kind of criminals Israel has to release in order to win their freedom. Euphemisms play a role in this coverage, as we need to read between the lines, and remember the cultural differences between the rose-colored-glasses view of the world that we Americans often adopt in foreign policy, and the reality of a...

An American journalist held by a terrorist group in Syria was freed Sunday after nearly two years of captivity, according to U.S. officials. Peter Theo Curtis, 45, a freelance journalist from Boston, was released in the Golan Heights Sunday evening, and U.S. authorities said they expected him to be reunited with his family "shortly," according to a statement from Susan Rice, President Obama's national security adviser. Jabhat al-Nusrah, al Qaeda's Syrian arm, held Curtis for 22 months. His safe release comes just five days after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria circulated a video of American journalist James Foley's...