Latest news with #hostageCrisis
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Netanyahu Sees Iran Outcome Opening Door to Gaza Hostage Return
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the 12-day war with Iran had created opportunities for Israel, and the first was the return of hostages held in Gaza by Palestinian gunmen who attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. His remarks, coupled with the Jerusalem District Court's postponement of his testimony this week in his long-running corruption trial, gave rise to speculation that progress may be made to end the Gaza conflict and secure the hostages' release. The court accepted on Sunday Netanyahu's request for the delay, citing classified diplomatic and security grounds. US President Donald Trump had suggested on Saturday the trial could interfere with the Israeli leader's ability to negotiate. Israel's military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on Friday the war in Iran, which ended on June 24, could help advance Israeli objectives against the Iranian-backed Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. Israeli public radio Kan said Israel's security cabinet had met on Sunday evening and would meet again on Monday. Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, Israeli media said. On a Sunday visit to a security facility of Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, Netanyahu said: "I want to inform you that as you probably know, many opportunities have opened up now following this victory, many opportunities." "First of all, to rescue the hostages. Of course we will also have to solve the Gaza issue, to defeat Hamas, but I estimate that we will achieve both tasks," he said, according to a statement issued by his office. Israeli advocates for the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, known as the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters, said his statement prioritizing the hostages was a first. "The families of the hostages welcome the fact that after 20 months, the return of the hostages has finally been designated as the top priority by the prime minister," they said. "This is a very important statement that must translate into a single comprehensive deal to bring back all 50 hostages and end the fighting in Gaza," their statement said. Of the 50 hostages, only 20 are believed to be alive. Trump said on Saturday that Netanyahu was "right now" negotiating a deal with Hamas, though neither leader provided details, and officials on both sides have voiced skepticism over prospects for a ceasefire soon. The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and a release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages once a permanent ceasefire was in place. On Sunday, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza before intensified fighting against Hamas. A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group's outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory. Israel says it can only end the war if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 captives back to Gaza in their attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Clark Olofsson, Notorious Criminal Who Helped Inspire the ‘Stockholm Syndrome' Phrase, Dies at 78
Clark Olofsson, one of the criminals who inspired the 'Stockholm syndrome' phrase, died on June 24, 2025, at 78 Olofsson died in a hospital in Sweden after a prolonged illness Olofsson rose to worldwide infamy in 1973 when he helped hold four people hostage in a bank in Stockholm and seemingly gained the sympathy of his captorsClark Olofsson, the notorious Swedish criminal who partly inspired the phrase 'Stockholm syndrome,' has died. He was 78. Olofsson died after a prolonged illness at Sweden's Arvika Hospital on June 24, according to his family, per Swedish news outlet Dagens ETC. Olofsson rose to worldwide infamy in 1973 when he helped fellow criminal Jan-Erik Olsson hold four people hostage in a bank in Stockholm for six days. Olsson initiated the robbery and kidnappings alone, but then demanded that police bring him his friend Olofsson, who at the time was imprisoned for an unrelated crime. Olofsson later maintained that authorities had told him he would receive a reduced sentence if he helped keep the hostages safe — a promise he said was ultimately not honored, per the BBC. Over the course of the week, the hostages seemingly began to sympathize with their captors and even defended their actions to authorities, according to the outlet. One of the hostages, 23-year-old Kristin Enmark, spoke to the Swedish prime minister during hostage negotiations and asked that she be allowed to leave the bank in a getaway car with the bank robbers. "I fully trust Clark and the robber ... They haven't done a thing to us,' she said during the call, per the BBC. "On the contrary, they have been very nice ... Believe it or not, but we've had a really nice time here." When police stormed the bank with tear gas, the hostages refused to leave Olofsson and Olsson for fear that authorities would shoot them, per the BBC. Years later, Enmark criticized the Stockholm syndrome theory — which was coined by Swedish psychiatrist Nils Bejerot — saying that she was merely trying to survive. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "It's a way of blaming the victim. I did what I could to survive,' she said on the BBC's Sideways podcast in 2021. Olofsson was raised by a single mother in Gothenburg, Sweden, per ETC. He began working on a cargo ship at age 15. By 19, he was involved in a police shooting after escaping prison. He was convicted of numerous crimes over his lifetime, including drug trafficking and a high-profile art heist, per the outlet. Several projects have been made about Olofsson's life, including a 2022 Netflix series — titled Clark — starring the actor Bill Skarsgård. Read the original article on People
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Swedish robber Clark Olofsson who inspired the term ‘Stockholm syndrome', dies at 78
KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — Clark Olofsson, the Swedish criminal whose role in a 1973 Stockholm bank robbery inspired the term 'Stockholm syndrome,' has died at 78, his family confirmed to Dagens ETC, as reported by the BBC. The six-day bank siege saw Olofsson and his accomplice, Jan-Erik Olsson, take four hostages who grew sympathetic towards them while increasingly distrustful of the police. This counterintuitive response was later named Stockholm syndrome, a theorised psychological condition where captives develop feelings of attachment to their captors. The BBC reported that the siege began with Olsson taking three women and one man hostage at a Stockholm bank, demanding Olofsson be brought from prison to the scene. Swedish authorities complied, allowing Olofsson to join Olsson inside the bank, which was under heavy police surveillance. Olofsson claimed in a later interview with Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper that authorities had asked him to protect the hostages in exchange for a reduced sentence. However, he alleged the agreement was not honoured. During the standoff, Olofsson persuaded one of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, to call the Swedish prime minister, Olof Palme. She expressed trust in her captors and asked to leave the bank with them, telling Palme: 'I fully trust Clark and the robber... They haven't done a thing to us.' The incident concluded when police used tear gas to storm the building. Despite being freed, hostages initially hesitated to leave, fearing their captors would be harmed. They later refused to testify against Olofsson and Olsson in court. As highlighted by the BBC, the term Stockholm syndrome was coined by Swedish criminologist Nils Bejerot. While the concept gained attention in high-profile cases, such as the 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst, it remains contested among experts. Enmark herself dismissed the idea during a BBC Sideways podcast in 2021, saying it unfairly blames victims. Olofsson, who spent much of his life in prison for armed robbery, drug offences, and other crimes, was released in 2018. The BBC noted that his life story was dramatized in the 2022 Netflix series 'Clark', with actor Bill Skarsgård portraying him. The BBC reported that Olofsson's family confirmed his death following a lengthy illness, marking the end of a life that profoundly impacted criminal history and popular psychology.
Al Arabiya
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Israeli strike on Iran's Evin prison irresponsible, says sister of French prisoner
An Israeli strike on Evin prison in Tehran on Monday is completely irresponsible and puts prisoners 'in mortal danger,' said Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler who is jailed there. Iran's judiciary said Israeli strikes left sections of the facility damaged and Israel's defense minister confirmed the army was targeting it. Cecile Kohler has been held along with her partner Jacques Paris in Evin since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject. Overall, Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals in what some Western governments describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West. Most are held in Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex notorious among activists for rights abuses. It is located in a northern district of the Iranian capital. 'This strike is completely irresponsible. Cecile, Jacques and all the prisoners are in mortal danger,' Noemie Kohler told AFP. 'This is really the worst thing that could have happened,' she added. 'We have no news, we don't know if they are still alive, we're panicking,' Noemie Kohler said. She urged the French authorities to 'condemn these extremely dangerous strikes' and secure the release of the French prisoners. She also expressed concern about the risk of 'chaos' and 'riots.' Noemie Kohler has tirelessly campaigned to secure the release of her sister and her sister's partner Jacques Paris. Chirinne Ardakani, a lawyer for the Kohler family, denounced the strikes as 'illegal'. 'The risk of riots, general confusion and reprisals by the security forces against the insurgent prisoners raises fears of bloodshed,' she told AFP. 'Both sides are playing with people's lives.' The Iranian judiciary's website, Mizan Online, said that the prison buildings remained 'under control.'
Reuters
11-06-2025
- Reuters
Body of hostage Yair Yaakov recovered from Gaza, Israeli media reports
CAIRO, June 11 (Reuters) - The body of Israeli hostage Yair Yaakov was recovered from the Gaza strip, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.
