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Profiles If 20 Israeli Hostages Due For Release From Gaza Captivity

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Twenty living Israeli hostages are due for release from captivity in Gaza under a ceasefire deal with Hamas. Militants kidnapped them during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel — the deadliest in the country’s history. Here are their profiles:

– Matan Angrest, 22 –

Sergeant Matan Angrest was captured in his tank near the border with the Gaza Strip after trying to stop Hamas commandos from crossing into Israel near the Nahal Oz base. Angrest, who comes from Kiryat Bialik in northern Israel, is a keen supporter of the Maccabi Haifa football team, according to his family.
A video published in April 2025 by his family shows the moment he was abducted from his tank. His family had planned a trip to Dubai to celebrate the end of his military service.

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– Gali and Ziv Berman, 28–

The Berman twins were abducted in the youth area of the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which Hamas attackers set on fire. The inseparable brothers worked together in music production and supported the Maccabi Tel Aviv and Liverpool football clubs. Their parents and elder brother survived the attack.

– Elkana Bohbot, 36 –

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Elkana Bohbot was one of the producers of the Supernova music festival, alongside his childhood friends Michael and Osher Waknin. Along with nearly 370 other people, they were killed in the Hamas attack on the site.
Married to a Colombian woman and father of one boy, Bohbot lived in Mevasseret Tzion, near Jerusalem. Colombian President Gustavo Petro granted him Colombian nationality in November 2023, a month after the attack.

His wife, Rebecca Gonzalez, said in February 2025 that she had received proof of life from former hostage Ohad Ben Ami, released on 8 February.
At the time of his abduction, Bohbot was planning to open an ice cream stall in a Tel Aviv market, according to his parents. In May, he appeared in a video circulated by Hamas alongside another hostage, Yossef-Haim Ohana. He did not speak but appeared visibly weak.

READ ALSO:Trump Gives Update On Israel, Hamas Peace Deal

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– Rom Braslavski, 21 –

Rom Braslavski, an Israeli-German from Jerusalem, was working as a security guard at the Supernova music festival when it was attacked in the early hours of 7 October.
Between 10:30 a.m., when he last contacted his mother, and 1:30 p.m., when he disappeared, he stayed at the scene, helping to protect others, according to witnesses who escaped. Both his hands were injured during the attack.
In August 2025, Hamas ally Islamic Jihad published a video showing Braslavski looking frail and speaking under duress.

– Nimrod Cohen, 21 –

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Hamas videos showed Nimrod Cohen being dragged with three other soldiers from his assault tank, which had faulty brakes, near the Nahal Oz kibbutz. The three other soldiers — Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel, and Shaked Dahan — were killed, and their bodies taken to Gaza. Dahan’s body was later repatriated to Israel.
Cohen, from Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv, always carried a Rubik’s cube, which his mother now keeps — partially burned — from his tank. His parents have been active in raising awareness of the hostages’ plight and pressing for their release.

– David and Ariel Cunio, 35 and 28 –

Israeli-Argentinian brothers David and Ariel Cunio were kidnapped along with several relatives while hiding in the safe room of David’s home in the Nir Oz kibbutz. Gunmen set fire to the house to force them out, then took eight people hostage — the largest number from a single family in the 7 October attack. Six relatives have since been released.
Israeli film director Tom Shoval presented A Letter to David, a tribute, at the Berlin Film Festival in February. The documentary later won the Ophir Award, Israel’s most prestigious film honour.
In 2013, David and his twin brother Eitan starred in Shoval’s film Youth. Eitan escaped the attack by hiding in his shelter at Nir Oz. The brothers share identical tattoos — three small dark green stars on their wrists.
At the Berlin festival, several actors and directors held up a photo of David Cunio on the red carpet.

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– Evyatar David, 24 –

Evyatar David’s parents learnt that he had been taken hostage into Gaza from a photo posted on Telegram, his face illuminated by torchlight.
He was at the Supernova festival with his childhood friend Guy Gilboa Dalal, who was also taken hostage and is believed to be alive.
A music lover from Kfar Saba in central Israel, David was working in a café and saving for a trip to Thailand before his abduction.
In August 2025, Hamas released a propaganda video showing him severely undernourished and holding a shovel, claiming he was digging his own grave.

READ ALSO:Israeli Mission To Bolster Wellbeing Of Orphans In Nigeria

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– Guy Gilboa Dalal, 24 –

Guy Gilboa Dalal was abducted from the Supernova festival, his first rave party, along with three friends, including Evyatar David.
His family quickly learnt of his kidnapping from a video showing him and David tied up in a Gaza tunnel.
A hostage freed in June during an Israeli army operation said Gilboa Dalal had been injured by his captors.
He and David were shown in a February 2025 Hamas video watching a hostage release ceremony before being locked in a car, pleading for their freedom.
On 5 September, he appeared in another Hamas video with hostage Alon Ohel in a tunnel. A lover of Japanese culture, he had been studying the language with hopes of visiting Japan one day.

– Maxim Herkin, 37 –

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Israeli-Russian national Maxim Herkin moved to Israel from Ukraine with his mother. He lived in Tirat Carmel, northern Israel, and is the father of a five-year-old girl who lives with her mother in Russia.
Before being kidnapped from the Supernova festival, he messaged his mother: “All is well. I’m coming home.”
In spring 2025, Hamas’s armed wing released a video showing Herkin lying down and apparently injured, with his head and left arm covered in blood-stained bandages.

– Eitan Horn, 39 –

Eitan Horn, from Argentina, was kidnapped with his elder brother Yair from the latter’s home in Nir Oz kibbutz.
He lived in Kfar Saba and worked in education, involved in youth movements. His family had emigrated from Argentina years earlier.
His brother, Yair, who is diabetic, was released in late February 2025.

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– Segev Kalfon, 27 –

Segev Kalfon, from Dimona in southern Israel, worked with his parents at their bakery in Arad, in the Negev desert.
A childhood friend who attended the Supernova festival with him said Kalfon was captured as he tried to hide in the bushes along Route 232, the only exit from the festival, running parallel to the Gaza border.
A released hostage told Kalfon’s family he had spent time in captivity with him.

READ ALSO:Israel-Palestine Conflict: Nigeria, 141 Countries Endorse Two-State Solution

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– Bar Kuperstein, 23 –

During the Hamas attack on the Supernova festival, army nurse Bar Kuperstein, who turned 23 in April, stayed behind to help the wounded before being abducted.
He was a festival staff member but was not on duty that day.
Videos showing him bound appeared soon after the attack.
Kuperstein, from Holon, a suburb of Tel Aviv, took on major responsibilities at home after his father, Tal Kuperstein, was left disabled in an accident. His father has since partially regained the ability to speak and move and has been longing for his son’s return.
A rescue worker like his father, Bar once saved his grandfather’s life during a heart attack — just two months before being taken hostage.

– Omri Miran, 48 –

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Israeli-Hungarian therapeutic masseur Omri Miran was taken from his home in Nahal Oz kibbutz in front of his wife, Lichay, and their two small daughters.
He appeared in an undated Hamas video released on 27 April 2024, saying, “I have been in Hamas captivity for 202 days. The situation here is unpleasant and difficult, and there are many bombs.”
Appearing to speak under duress, he urged his family to pressure the Israeli government to reach a deal.
His father, Dani, told AFP he grew a beard in solidarity with his son. Miran later appeared in another Hamas video released on 23 April 2025.

READ ALSO:Israeli Strikes In Yemen’s Capital Kill Two, Say Rebels

– Eitan Mor, 25 –

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Security guard Eitan Mor was abducted from Supernova.
The son of a practising Jewish family in the Kiryat Arba settlement in the occupied West Bank, his father, Tzvika Mor, founded the Forum of Hope — a group of hostages’ parents opposed to a deal with Hamas.

– Yosef Haim Ohana, 25 –

Yosef-Haim Ohana, from Kiryat Malakhi in southern Israel, was working as a barman at Supernova and planned to study sports coaching.
He was seen trying to help injured people before attempting to flee. His brother, Acher-Yitzhak, died of cancer at age seven.
Ohana appeared in a Hamas video in May 2025 alongside hostage Elkana Bohbot.

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– Alon Ohel, 24 –

A talented pianist with Serbian and German nationality, Alon Ohel planned to begin music studies after returning from a trip to Asia.
He was abducted at Supernova while trying to hide with three other young men.
From the village of Lavon in northern Israel, his family said in February 2025 that they had received proof of life from released hostages, who said he was wounded and untreated.

– Avinatan Or, 32 –

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Dual British-Israeli national Avinatan Or comes from a religious Jewish family of seven children in the Shilo settlement, West Bank.
His partner, Noa Argamani, was abducted with him at Supernova but was freed in an Israeli military operation in June 2024.
He was planning to move in with her in Beersheba, where he studied engineering.

– Matan Zangauker, 25 –

Matan Zangauker was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz kibbutz with his Israeli-Mexican girlfriend, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released in November 2023 during the first truce of the two-year war.
Zangauker’s mother, Einav, and Gritzewsky have since become prominent advocates for the hostages’ cause.
Zangauker enjoys aeromodelling and worked on the kibbutz’s medical cannabis farm.

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JAPA: Top Six Countries To Obtain Easiest Citizenship

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As a Nigerian considering relocation plans, interest in countries with clear and less complicated citizenship pathways is a smart way to not just guarantee greener pastures, but also provide you with the opportunity to feel more at home in a foreign land. While some of the programmes are ancestry-based, others allow Nigerians with such a link to try other means.

Contents
1. Dominica
2. Ireland
3. Turkey
4. Portugal
5. Vanuatu
6. Italy
Though rules vary widely across borders, some nations stand out for offering citizenship through investment or family ties with fewer hurdles and faster processing timelines.

Below are the top six countries with the easiest citizenship:

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1. Dominica
Dominica operates a citizenship-by-investment programme that allows applicants to qualify through a contribution to the government’s Economic Diversification Fund or by investing in approved real estate. Processing typically takes a few months. Citizens enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 140 countries, including the Schengen Zone. There is no residency requirement, and dual citizenship is permitted.

READ ALSO:Japa: 5 Affordable European Countries Nigerians Can Relocate To

2. Ireland
Ireland provides a clear citizenship pathway for individuals with Irish ancestry. Those with an Irish-born parent qualify automatically, while people with an Irish-born grandparent can apply through the Foreign Births Register. An Irish passport grants full European Union rights, including freedom of movement across EU countries. Dual citizenship is allowed, and there is no language requirement for applicants applying by descent.

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3. Turkey
Turkey offers a fast-track citizenship option through investment. Foreign nationals who purchase qualifying real estate valued at a minimum of $400,000 can obtain citizenship within a few months. The programme does not require residency or renunciation of an existing nationality. Turkish passport holders have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to several countries, with ongoing efforts to expand travel agreements.

4. Portugal
Portugal’s Golden Visa programme provides a residency-to-citizenship route for foreign investors. After five years of legal residence and meeting programme conditions, applicants may apply for citizenship. Approved investment options include venture capital funds and other qualifying assets. Successful applicants gain an EU passport, access to the Schengen Area, and dual citizenship, subject to passing a basic Portuguese language test.

READ ALSO:Japa: Lagos Suffers Deficit Of 30,000 Doctors, Commissioner Laments

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5. Vanuatu
Vanuatu runs one of the world’s fastest citizenship programmes. Through its Development Support Programme, eligible applicants can receive citizenship in as little as two months after making the required financial contribution. The country offers visa-free access to over 100 destinations and has no tax on global income or capital gains. Residency requirements are minimal.

6. Italy
Italy grants citizenship by descent to individuals with an Italian parent or grandparent, following a 2025 legal update that tightened eligibility rules. Applicants must provide official documents proving a direct family link to an Italian ancestor. Italian citizenship comes with full EU rights, wide visa-free travel, and the ability to pass citizenship to future generations. Dual nationality is allowed, and no language test is required for descent-based applications.
(Tribune)

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Japa: 5 Affordable European Countries Nigerians Can Relocate To

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As economic pressures continue to mount, many Nigerians are increasingly exploring relocation as a path toward stability, better opportunities, and an improved quality of life. However, traditional destinations such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States are becoming more difficult to access due to rising living costs and stricter visa policies.

Contents
1. Slovakia
2. Latvia
3. Portugal
4. Hungary
5. Georgia

But beyond these popular options, several lesser-known European countries are emerging as affordable and welcoming alternatives. Offering low tuition fees, flexible visa policies, and a reasonable cost of living, these nations are becoming attractive relocation choices for Nigerians seeking balance and opportunity.

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In this article, Tribune Online highlights five budget-friendly countries Nigerians can consider for relocation:

1. Slovakia
Located in Central Europe, Slovakia combines stability, safety, and simplicity; three factors often missing in high-pressure relocation destinations.

READ ALSO:Top 11 Friendliest Countries To Visit

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Though it may not feature prominently on social media relocation lists, Slovakia’s affordability and accessibility make it a hidden gem. Students enjoy low tuition fees, while residents benefit from proximity to major European cities like Vienna and Prague. For Nigerians seeking structure and affordability, Slovakia provides a peaceful yet practical alternative.

2. Latvia
The Baltic nation of Latvia is fast becoming a preferred destination for international students and skilled professionals. Known for its low living costs and straightforward residence procedures, Latvia offers a convenient entry point into the European Union.

Riga, its capital city, blends historic charm with modern infrastructure, providing an ideal environment for studying, working, or gradually transitioning to other parts of Europe.

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3. Portugal
Situated on Europe’s western coast, Portugal is one of the continent’s most liveable and affordable countries. Known for its mild weather, safety, and reasonable living costs, Portugal offers a soft landing for Nigerians looking to relocate without excessive financial strain. The country’s friendly visa policies and welcoming atmosphere make it ideal for students, remote workers, and small business owners. Beyond its scenic beauty, Portugal provides what many Nigerians desire: peace of mind and an easier start abroad.

READ ALSO:10 Countries With The Strongest Global Reputation In 2025

4. Hungary
Hungary has quietly become a top choice for international students, offering quality education at affordable tuition rates. Living costs are significantly lower than in Western Europe, and cities like Budapest, Szeged, and Debrecen provide vibrant yet budget-friendly environments.

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For Nigerians looking to relocate through education, Hungary offers a realistic and sustainable path toward long-term settlement in Europe.

5. Georgia
For Nigerians seeking an easy transition abroad, Georgia presents one of the smoothest relocation routes. The country allows Nigerians to stay visa-free for up to one year, eliminating embassy interviews and lengthy paperwork.

Located between Europe and Asia, Georgia offers a blend of natural beauty and affordability. Rent, transport, and food costs remain moderate, making it an excellent base for digital nomads and young professionals.

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As migration trends evolve, success now depends on flexibility and strategic planning. While the dream of relocating abroad remains strong, the path doesn’t always have to lead through the UK or Canada. For Nigerians ready to look beyond the familiar, Europe’s quieter corners still offer accessible and rewarding opportunities.

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Insecurity: US Congressman Riley Moore Reveals Trump’s Mission In Nigeria 

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US Congressman Riley Moore has dismissed insinuations that President Donald Trump is attempting to bring war to Nigeria.

Moore made the remark in a post on his verified X handle on Monday.

His comments followed a US military airstrike on a terrorist enclave in north-west Nigeria on Christmas Day, reportedly carried out on the directive of President Trump.

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President Trump is not trying to bring war to Nigeria, he’s bringing peace and security to Nigeria and to the thousands of Christians who face horrific violence and death.

READ ALSO:Russia Calls up 135,000 Military Personnel

The strikes against ISIS on Christmas, in coordination with the Nigerian government, have given hope to the Christians in Nigeria,” he said.

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Recall that the lawmaker had previously stated that President Trump is focused on ending the killing of Christians in Nigeria.

It will be recalled that Moore led a US delegation on a fact-finding mission into alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria some weeks ago.

During his brief stay in the country, Moore travelled to Benue State, where he interfaced with religious and traditional leaders, as well as internally displaced persons.

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