Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza, Canadians react as first phase of peace deal begins

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“I’m glad for them because … I only had three days of thinking that Adi was kidnapped, and I couldn’t touch my neck because it was so tense. So I don’t know how they lived 732 days like that,” she said, about the families of the remaining hostages.

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However, Vital said she feels like there is much more to be done within the country. The families of eight Canadians killed by Hamas, including Vital, wrote to Carney earlier this week on the second anniversary of the attack. The letter pushed for more action to combat rising antisemitism within the country. The Canadians killed on Oct. 7 were Netta Epstein, Shir Georgy, Judih Weinstein Haggai, Adi Vital-Kaploun, Tiferet Lapidot, Alexandre Look, Ben Mizrachi and Vivian Silver.

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Judih Weinstein Haggai and Gadi Haggai pictured in this file photo. Family Handout

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Meanwhile, Canadian Iris Weinstein Haggai told the Globe and Mail that she won’t get excited about the deal because “it’s not done until it’s done.” Although, she said, she is hopeful. Her parents Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein Haggai were killed by Hamas terrorists and their remains were returned to Israel in June 2025.

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Trump expected in Israel Monday

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Trump is set to travel to Israel on Monday for an “in and out” visit, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel. He is expected to address the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and to meet with freed hostages.

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The source said that Trump would not spend the night in Israel, and would leave after his brief engagements in the country.

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lauded Trump’s commitment to end the war. On Friday, in a post on X, he said Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

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“The Nobel Committee talks about peace. President (Trump) makes it happen,” he wrote.

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This year, the prize went to Venezuela’s opposition leader and democracy activist Maria Corina Machado, “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” the committee said.

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Not all remains of deceased hostages may return: Israeli sources

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Israeli sources told CNN yesterday that they believed that Hamas would not be able to locate all of the remains of deceased hostages.

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The father of an American hostage said he hasn’t received confirmation about his son’s status.

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“There is that scenario, some say even a realistic scenario, that Hamas will come back and say, ‘Look, we don’t have 48. We only have a lower number.’ So it might be that there are some families, including mine, that do not have closure,” Ruby Chen told CNN. His son Itay Chen is presumed dead.

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In remarks made on Friday, Netanyahu said that deceased hostages would be given “a proper Jewish burial.”

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“We will act to locate all of them as soon as possible – we will do that as a sacred duty of communal responsibility,” he said.

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