Hamas Releases Teen Hostage Who Was Kidnapped With Pet Dog

Hamas on Tuesday began releasing the fifth batch of Israeli hostages, including a 17-year-old girl who was kidnapped with her family dog, Bella.

Mia Leimberg, 17, was abducted along with her mother, Gabriela, who is the director of a center that serves children with autism and special needs, on Oct. 7. She was also released as part of the Tuesday exchange.

The mother-and-daughter pair were visiting family on Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak not far from the Gaza border when they were taken into custody by Hamas alongside three of their relatives, according to the Times of Israel.

The family had tried to hide in the home’s sealed room, using a chair to keep the door shut before they were discovered by the terrorists, the newspaper reported.

Families and children of the center where Gabriela worked had struggled with her absence and called for her release in a video they produced last month, according to Israeli news outlet Ice.

Israel’s YNet News reported Tuesday that Gabriela and Mia were taken to Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital, where veterinarians were also preparing to treat Bella.

The Leimbergs were among 10 hostages freed on Tuesday, the fifth day of an extended ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that is set to expire on Wednesday.

So far, 61 Israeli hostages and 18 foreign nationals have been released under the deal since Friday, along with about 200 Palestinian prisoners Israel agreed to release in exchange for those held captive by Hamas.

Only one American has been released to date: 4-year-old Abigail Edan, an Israeli dual citizen who spent seven weeks in captivity in Gaza after witnessing Hamas murder her parents during the terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre.

No U.S. citizens were among the hostages released Tuesday.

The agreement in place extends until the end of the day on Wednesday, at which point — assuming no further extensions are approved — the war will resume.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby expressed hope on Monday that more American hostages would be released “over the next couple of days.”

Still, Kirby also said U.S. officials are “not involved in the specific drafting of the lists and the determination on Hamas’ side of who’s going to come out on any given day.”