Kidnapping and Hostages

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    Israel Recovers Bodies of Three Hostages Held by Hamas in Gaza

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    The retrieval of the bodies of three Israelis taken hostage by Hamas jolted Israelis’ focus back to a conflict that had been overshadowed by the escalating crisis with Iran.The bodies of three Israelis taken hostage by Hamas have been recovered, the Israeli government said on Sunday. The announcement jolted Israelis’ focus back to the war in Gaza, which had been overshadowed by the escalating crisis with Iran.Israeli officials identified the three people as Yonatan Samerano; Ofra Keidar; and Shay Levinson, an Israeli soldier. All three were killed during the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and their bodies were taken back to Gaza as bargaining chips.Approximately 50 out of the roughly 250 hostages captured during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel are believed to still be in Gaza. About 20 of those are believed to still be alive, while the rest are presumed dead, according to the Israeli authorities.Israel’s war in Gaza has continued apace over the past week, even as most Israelis — along with much of the rest of the international community — have turned their attention to the war with Iran. More than 500 people have been killed in Gaza since the war with Iran began over a week ago, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.Gazans are still living through a seemingly endless humanitarian crisis in which finding enough food and water has become a daily struggle. Desperate scenes of looting of aid trucks have become a near-daily occurrence amid widespread hunger and lawlessness.Israel and Hamas observed a two-month cease-fire earlier this year that saw 30 hostages freed and the bodies of eight more returned in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. A renewed Israeli assault ended the truce in March.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Man Is Charged With Trying to Kidnap Memphis Mayor, Police Say

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      The 25-year-old man told the police that he had gone to the home of Mayor Paul Young to confront him about crime. The police later found a stun gun, rope and duct tape in the man’s car, they said.A 25-year-old man who said he was angry about crime in Memphis and wanted to confront the city’s mayor scaled a wall at the mayor’s home late Sunday night and, armed with a stun gun, knocked on the front door, according to the Memphis Police Department.The man, Trenton Abston, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempted kidnapping, stalking and aggravated criminal trespass in connection with the episode at the home of Mayor Paul Young. The police said that they had later recovered the stun gun, as well as gloves, rope and duct tape, from Mr. Abston’s car.Mr. Young was home, along with his wife and two young children, when he saw the man knock on his door through his doorbell camera, the police said.“Paul Young reported that he did not know the male and his presence at his door at a late hour wearing a hoodie and gloves put him, his wife and children in fear for their safety,” according to a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday.According to the complaint, in footage recorded by the mayor’s doorbell video camera, the man appeared to have “a lumpy bulge” in the pocket of his hoodie when he knocked on the door. Mr. Young did not open the door, and the man fled.Mr. Young recounted the events of Sunday night in a Facebook post on Wednesday under a family portrait in which he, his wife and their two school-age children are smiling.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Israel Recovers Body of Thai Farmworker in Gaza

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      Nattapong Pinta was taken hostage and later killed by members of a small militant group in Gaza, the Israeli military said.Israeli security forces have recovered the body of a Thai citizen who was abducted and taken back to Gaza in the 2023 Hamas-led attack, the military said on Saturday.Nattapong Pinta was in his 30s and was a farmworker at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel when he was taken hostage. He was held and later killed by members of the Mujahideen Brigades, a small militant group in Gaza, according to the Israeli military statement.Security forces brought the body back from the Rafah area in southern Gaza after the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency obtained intelligence from a Palestinian militant during an interrogation, the statement added.Palestinian militants took dozens of Thai farmworkers hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. During a short cease-fire in November of that year, 23 Thai captives were released and five more were freed during another cease-fire this year.A handout photograph from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum showing Nattapong Pinta, left, with his wife and son.Hostages and Missing Families Forum, via Associated PressThat cease-fire broke down and Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza against Hamas in mid-March with regular air bombardments and ground operations.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Another Suspect Is Arrested in Bitcoin Kidnapping and Torture Case

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      The man, William Duplessie, surrendered to the police Tuesday morning. Authorities have said the victim was an Italian man who was tormented in a luxury Manhattan townhouse for weeks.A third person accused of kidnapping a man and torturing him for nearly three weeks to steal his Bitcoin fortune surrendered to the police on Tuesday morning, said Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.The police identified the man, who has connections to Switzerland and Miami, as William Duplessie. He had spent days negotiating his surrender with the Police Department after the arrest on Friday of two others, John Woeltz, a cryptocurrency investor, and Beatrice Folchi, according to two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter. Ms. Folchi was quickly released and her prosecution was deferred, one of the officials said.“We know he is going to be charged, with Mr. Woeltz, with kidnapping and false imprisonment of an associate,” Commissioner Tisch said in an interview on Fox 5 of Mr. Duplessie, shortly after he turned himself in.The episode burst into public view on Friday morning when the victim, an Italian man, escaped from the lavish, 17-room townhouse in the NoLIta neighborhood of Manhattan where he had been held captive and flagged down a traffic agent.The victim, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, and Mr. Woeltz had ties to a crypto hedge fund in New York, according to an internal police report relayed by a third law enforcement official.But Mr. Carturan and Mr. Woeltz fell out over money and Mr. Carturan flew to Italy, according to the report. Soon after, Mr. Woeltz persuaded him to return to New York.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Poised to Expand Gaza Offensive, Israel Calls Up Thousands of Reserve Soldiers

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      The mobilization could indicate that Israel is preparing to shift its tactics in its fight against Hamas. Israel will mobilize thousands of reserve soldiers to bolster its campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Saturday night, as the country appeared poised to expand its offensive in the Palestinian enclave.The call-up suggested the Israeli government was preparing to shift tactics in an attempt to force Hamas to agree to its terms for an end to the war. It is unclear whether that would prove successful, as Hamas has fought a determined insurgency through more than a year of Israeli operations in Gaza. Israel’s security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was set to meet on Sunday to formally sign off on broadening the campaign in Gaza, said an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.The mobilization announcement compounded fears in Gaza, where Israel has barred food, medicine and other humanitarian aid from entering for over two months. Reeling from more than a year of hunger and fighting, many are still displaced or living amid the rubble of their homes.After Israel ended a two-month cease-fire with Hamas in mid-March, Israeli forces resumed attacking across the enclave. But while Israel jets and drones have regularly bombarded Gaza from the air, Israeli ground forces slowed their advance after seizing some territory.More than 50,000 people have been killed in Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, according to Gaza health officials. They do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but their tallies include thousands of children.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Grandpa Robbers’ Go on Trial in Paris Over 2016 Kim Kardashian Heist

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      The reality TV star and entrepreneur was tied up and held at gunpoint, and jewelry worth nearly $9 million was stolen in the incident.Ten people tied to a group nicknamed the “grandpa robbers” went on trial in Paris on Monday over accusations that they plotted and carried out a brazen robbery against Kim Kardashian in the French capital nearly a decade ago.The defendants are accused of involvement in a violent attack on the reality TV star and entrepreneur that prosecutors have attributed to a group of veteran criminals, some of whom are in their 70s.Ms. Kardashian was gagged, tied up and robbed at gunpoint of jewelry worth at least 8 million euros, or nearly $9 million, at a luxury residence she had rented during Paris fashion week in October 2016.The overnight robbery of a prominent American celebrity shocked the world and raised safety concerns for tourists in Paris, which at the time was still traumatized by a string of terrorist attacks.Five men dressed in police uniforms and wearing balaclavas burst into Ms. Kardashian’s residence. They forced the night watchman to guide two of them to her apartment and to translate as they tied her up. They took jewels, including her diamond engagement ring, and other valuables and left on foot and on bicycle minutes later.Most of the jewelry was not recovered. But investigators found DNA, including on the zip ties that were used to bind Ms. Kardashian’s hands and feet, and police made a number of arrests three months later. Prosecutors said several of those arrested, who were in their 50s and 60s at the time, were longtime criminals.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Taliban Appears to Free American Woman Detained in Afghanistan

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      An American woman detained in Afghanistan has been released by the Taliban, according to a social media post on Saturday by a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, just days after the United States removed multimillion-dollar bounties from the heads of three senior Taliban officials.Faye Hall, the released American citizen, was pictured sitting on a couch between two men and smiling in a social media post on X by Zalmay Khalilzad, the former ambassador. Mr. Khalizad said that Ms. Hall “is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home.”He also shared what he said was a video of Ms. Hall professing support for President Trump and thanking the president for her release.President Trump reposted the video on Saturday on his social media site, Truth Social, thanking Ms. Hall and adding that he was “so honored” by her words.Ms. Hall was arrested in early February, British media reported, along with a British couple and an interpreter. The couple, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who were both in their seventies, had run educational and training projects in the country for eighteen years, according to British media. Ms. Hall was said to be a friend of the couple.The British couple has not been released, according to British media. A daughter of the Reynolds said that Afghan guards had to use force to separate Ms. Hall from Ms. Reynolds when they removed Ms. Hall from detention because the two women had vowed that all four in their group would be released together.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Hamas Fires Rockets at Tel Aviv as Israel Expands Gaza Ground Operations

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      A two-month cease-fire in Gaza collapsed this week amid a renewed Israeli bombardment. The fighting now looks like it is escalating back to full-scale war.Hamas fired its first barrage of rockets in months into Israeli territory on Thursday as Israeli troops expanded their ground raids in northern Gaza in what looked increasingly like a slide back into full-scale war.There were no reports of casualties from the rockets, which were fired at Tel Aviv. The Israeli military said they were either intercepted or fell in open areas. But the barrage served as a show of resilience from the Palestinian armed group despite more than a year of war with Israel.A two-month cease-fire collapsed this week with an Israeli aerial bombardment of Gaza, which the military said had targeted Hamas. Israel argued that the truce could not continue unless Hamas released more hostages, while Hamas accused Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement.Israel’s renewed assault has killed more than 500 people in Gaza in three days, including scores of children, the Gaza health ministry said on Thursday. Those figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military said its forces had begun conducting “ground activity” near Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza. That came less than a day after Israel announced that it had recaptured part of the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, which divides the north of the territory from the south. Israel had withdrawn from the corridor as part of the truce.Hamas said at least five of its top leaders in Gaza were among about 400 people killed by Israel on Tuesday in a heavy bombardment, according to Gaza officials. Hamas rarely provides information as to whether those killed in Israeli attacks were members of the armed group.Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has vowed to step up pressure on Hamas until the group capitulates and releases the dozens of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held in Gaza.Hamas officials say Israel will not gain more favorable terms for a cease-fire by resuming the war.The first phase of the January cease-fire ended in early March. Mediators like the United States were trying to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas on the next steps in the truce, including a permanent end to the war and the release of the remaining living hostages in Gaza.But Israel has been unwilling to end the conflict permanently as long as Hamas remains in power in Gaza. Hamas is refusing to disband its armed battalions, send its leaders in Gaza into exile or release many more hostages unless Israel commits to a permanent end to the war.About 24 living Israeli and foreign hostages — as well as the remains of more than 30 others — are believed to still be in Gaza, according to the Israeli government.Hamas and its allies abducted about 250 people during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that ignited the war. More

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      Separatists Hijack Train Carrying Over 400 Passengers in Pakistan

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      The authorities were struggling to reach the remote site of the ambush in the country’s southwest, and the passengers’ fate was not immediately known.Separatist militants hijacked a train carrying more than 400 people in an isolated mountainous area of southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday. The fate of the passengers, whom the militants said they were holding hostage, was not immediately clear.The militants, Baloch ethnic fighters, forced the train to stop in the Bolan district of Balochistan Province after opening fire on it, according to railway and police officials. The train was traveling from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. It was to pass through several cities, including Lahore and Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government, said the authorities were struggling to reach the site of the ambush because of the challenging terrain.Rashid Hussain, a trader in Quetta, said his family had left on the train for Rawalpindi in the morning but had become unreachable after 2 p.m. “I am deeply worried,” he said by telephone. “The government is not providing any updates. Neither roads nor trains are safe in this province.”The seizure of the passenger train highlighted the increasing sophistication of a separatist insurgency in Pakistan’s southwest. The attack was the latest in a series of violent episodes in Balochistan, a province bordering Iran and Afghanistan that is the site of major Chinese-led projects, including a strategic port.A group known as the Baloch Liberation Army, or B.L.A., claimed responsibility for the train hijacking. In a statement, it said its militants had taken hostages, some of whom were security personnel.The government has yet to confirm reports of hostages or any casualties.Last year, the B.L.A. carried out one of Pakistan’s deadliest terrorist attacks, a suicide bombing that killed at least 25 people, including security personnel, at Quetta’s busy railway station.The group also claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing targeting a convoy carrying Chinese citizens near the international airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. The separatists accuse the Chinese of stealing the province’s resources.In recent months, separatist groups have escalated high-profile attacks along Balochistan’s three major highways, directly challenging the state’s authority. Last week, an alliance of the groups, including the B.L.A., announced plans to intensify attacks on Pakistani security forces, infrastructure and Chinese interests in the region.“It points to two key trends: the increasing operational capabilities and sophistication of separatist groups and the weakening control of the government in Balochistan,” said Abdul Basit, senior associate fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.At the Quetta railway station, families of passengers aboard the train anxiously gathered at the information counter on Tuesday, seeking updates.Many people in the region had begun to prefer rail travel after frequent militant ambushes on the highways in which passengers were killed after being taken off buses. Frequent protests have also caused road blockages.Train services had resumed only in October after a two-month suspension because of militant attacks on railway tracks. More