17 additional Hamas hostages released after hours-long delay

(REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

A minimum of 5.6 million people have been driven from their homes, a further 25 million need aid and some 9,000 have been killed in Sudan since the latest conflict began earlier this year, according to the U.N. The situation gets worse daily, with increasing credible reports of ethnically based attacks and rape of women and children.

Yet Sudan is literally the forgotten war.

"An Arab paramilitary group is carrying out a genocide in Sudan with mass killings of minorities and corpses spread across streets," Richard Goldberg, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

There’s little media coverage, and relief agencies battle to get into the world’s spotlight so they can supplement funds, which at the same time are diminishing.

The World Food Program (WFP) has delivered food to over 3 million people in Sudan "in very difficult circumstances" since the start of the conflict. A WFP spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Our humanitarian dollar is being stretched to the breaking point. Across the board, the gulf between humanitarian needs and funding available to respond has grown steadily."

Upwards of 6 million people have been ripped from their homes — but reportedly not even 600 have demonstrated against the atrocities in Sudan. Goldberg, who was also a member of former President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, pointed out this contrast with the massive protests engulfing Europe and parts of the U.S. over the war in Gaza.

"There’s no mob outside the White House to stop the indiscriminate killing of thousands in Sudan," said Goldberg. "These extremists only seem to get agitated by Jews who lawfully defend themselves from further mass slaughter," he said.

Fox News' Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.

Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The University of Southern California recently moved a Jewish economic professor to remote work after he called Hamas terrorists "murderers" who "should be killed" in front of a group of pro-Palestinian students on campus.

Professor John Strauss was shifted to teach the rest of his classes for the semester remotely after the confrontation between him and the students earlier this month.

USC confirmed the move to Fox News Digital this weekend in a statement saying Strauss "is teaching his classes remotely through the end of the semester."

Strauss became the center of controversy after his on-campus interaction with pro-Palestinian demonstrators organized by USC Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation, USC Graduates for Palestine, and Trojans for Palestine.

Video of the confrontation depicted Strauss walking past the student protesters and calling them "ignorant. Really ignorant."

Once the students engaged him, the professor added, "Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are."

However, shorter edits of that footage – which left out the portion naming Hamas – spread online, giving many viewers the impression that Strauss wanted Palestinians killed.

Fox News' Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

9-year-old Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli girl who was held in Hamas captivity and released Saturday, was filmed seeing her father for the first time in over 50 days.

The video shows the young girl running into the arms of her dad, who embraced her. Israeli military officials stood by while the family members hugged each other.

Other hostages who were released on Saturday include Hila Rotem Shoshani, Shiri and Noga Weis and Adi and Yahel Shoham. 13 Israelis were released in total on Saturday, along with 4 Thai citizens.

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

The weekly rally of families of hostages and their supporters, on Saturday evening at the "Hostages Square" in Tel Aviv. (Photo by ORI AVIRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it has been made aware of the hostages that Hamas plans to release Sunday.

"We have received the list of hostages who will be released today (Sunday) following the schedule," the office's statement read. "The security officials are checking the list."

The office asked journalists to avoid "spreading rumors and unofficial information" amid the 4-day hostage exchange period.

"On behalf of the person in charge of the hostages and the missing, Lt. Col. Gal Hirsch, the information has been given to the families of the hostages," the statement continued. "We ask the media to act with the required caution."

"We will add reliable information as needed and ask to avoid spreading rumors and unofficial information," the office added.

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

Israeli security forces wait near ambulances outside Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, as medical staff prepare for the arrival of hostages released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, on November 26, 2023. (FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

The 13 Israeli citizens joined four Thai foreign nationals who were also released by Hamas late Saturday.

The group, which did not include any Americans, traveled to the Rafah Border Crossing with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).The group consisted of women, teenagers and children.

Noam Or, 17, and Alma Or, 13, were part of the group, along with 53-year-old Shiri Weiss and 18-year-old Noga Weiss.Sharon Hertzman Avigdori, 52, and 12-year-old Noam Avigdori were also released. Other captives included Shoshan Haran, 67, Adi Shoham, 38, and 8-year-old Nave Shoham, along with 3-year-old Yahel Shoham.

Read the full article about the Israeli hostages by Andrea Vacchiano

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released footage showing a vehicle filled with hostages that were kidnapped by Hamas entering Israeli territory on Saturday night.

Hamas had agreed to free 13 Israelis and 7 non-Israelis on Saturday, but the vehicle reportedly only carried 4 foreign nationals. The number of Israelis remained the same.

The Israelis that were freed were women, children and teenagers. The youngest captive was 3-year-old Yahel Shoham, while the oldest was Shoshan Haran, 67.

The Israeli Prison Service also confirmed early Sunday morning that it released 39 Palestinians in exchange for the hostages.

Former President Donald Trump gives remarks at the South Texas International airport on November 19, 2023 in Edinburg, Texas. (Photo by Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)

Former President Trump blasted American leaders as there were no U.S. citizens released in the past few days by Hamas.

Hamas terrorists released 17 hostages late Saturday, and 24 on Friday, but none of them were any of the 10 American citizens being held, including 4-year-old Avigail Idan. The release of hostages comes as Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day cease-fire.

Fifty hostages held by Hamas are expected to be released within the four-day window, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. In exchange, 150 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel will be released.

Read the full article about former President Trump by Adam Sabes

On Saturday, the Israeli government released footage from Friday night of hostages arriving in Israel after being released by Hamas officials.

The X account for the Prime Minister of Israel said that the footage was the first official video of Friday night's group of 13 hostages arriving back into their country.

The video shows a group of adults leaving a vehicle. Some of the hostages were elderly, with one being transported in a wheelchair.

Other hostages were seen waving and smiling and they were accompanied by Israeli military officials. None of the hostages were American.

Israeli Forces continue preparations by deploying tanks and armored assets along the Gaza border as Israeli attacks continue on the 47th day on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that it intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on Saturday night, the second day of the four-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

The interception occurred near the Red Sea, which separates Asia and Africa.

"An IDF fighter jet successfully intercepted a UAV approaching Israeli territory in the area of the Red Sea a short while ago," the IDF's post on X read.

"The threat did not infiltrate Israeli territory," the post added.

Relatives, friends and supporters of 21-year-old Omer Shem Tov, held hostage in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, take part in a protest to ask for the release of Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv on November 25, 2023. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced late Saturday night that a group of hostages taken by Hamas were on their way out of the Gaza Strip.

The captives were en route to the Rafah Border Crossing. The IDF was given the update by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Hamas officials gave the Red Cross 13 Israelis and 4 non-Israelis. It was previously announced that Hamas would release 19 Israelis and 7 non-Israelis.

Fox News Digital's Dana Karni contributed to this report.

US President Joe Biden waves the book Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson with granddaughter Finnegan Biden after leaving a bookstore while shopping with family members in downtown during his Thanksgiving vacation November 24, 2023, in Nantucket, Massachusetts. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden was briefed on Saturday about "the state of the hostage deal implementation" amid the Israel-Hamas war, White House officials say.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson told Fox News that Biden spoke directly with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Saturday morning.

"Following the President’s call, senior US officials were in regular contact with the Israelis, Qataris, and Egyptians to overcome hurdles to implementation," Watson's statement read. "The President was briefed throughout the day."

Biden was told by Qatari officials at around 1:30 p.m. that the hostage deal would resume and that the International Committee of the Red Cross was working to collect the captives.

Fox News Digital's Sarah Tobianski contributed to this report.

ISRAEL - NOVEMBER: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visits the 91st Division's base in northern Israel, November 11, 2023. (Photo by Israeli Defense Minister/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip that Israel's military operations will not conclude until all of the hostages held by Hamas are freed.

Gallant spoke to commanders and soldiers from the IDF's infantry, armored corps, engineering and navy forces on Saturday, who are operating in the Gaza Strip, the military said. He addressed the temporary cease-fire and negotiations with Hamas to free some 240 hostages the terror group took captive in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

“Our ability to bring home the first group of hostages is the result of military pressure. As soon as military pressure is applied, they [Hamas] want a break. When you increase the pressure, they want another break. When you increase the pressure even more, they are ready to come forward with an offer, and when you increase it even more, they are read to come with an acceptable offer – that’s the whole method," Gallant said. 

"We cannot leave Gaza and stop the war until we reach a situation in which we bring back all the hostages – because we have many more [held captive]," he added. 

Addressing the soldiers directly, he said: “There is a direct correlation between your actions and the elimination of the enemy [Hamas] and also between your actions and our ability to bring back the hostages – that’s the process. The timeframe for the pause is short – it won’t take weeks, it will take days – a little more, a little less – any further negotiations will be held under fire. That is, they want to continue discussing the next time [the next pause] – it will be held while our forces are fighting – that’s the basis [for any pause]."

Protester hold flags and placards as they take part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Trafalgar Square in London, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Large pro-Palestinian demonstrations continued for the seventh straight week in London as tens of thousands too to the streets on Saturday. 

At least one person was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred "near the start of the protest," Metropolitan police said. 

“Officers spotted him carrying a placard with Nazi symbols on it," police said. 

Officers handed out leaflets at the march that sought to clarify what would be deemed an offence, after the force faced pressure from senior government officials to be tougher on alleged displays of antisemitism at the protests.

“Anyone who is racist or incites hatred against any group should expect to be arrested. As should anyone who supports Hamas or any other banned organisation,” said Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Ade Adelekan.

“We will not tolerate anyone who celebrates or promotes acts of terrorism – such as the killing or kidnap of innocent people – or who spreads hate speech," he added.

The police said 1,500 officers were deployed to keep the peace at the protest, the Associated Press reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden retreated to Nantucket, where he normally finds reprieve from the demands of running the country, but pro-Palestinian protesters managed to track him down and remain a reminder of the troubles waiting for him. 

The protesters found Biden twice on Friday, once as he departed lunch with his family and again when they attended a tree-lighting ceremony. Each time, they shouted now-familiar slogans, including "Free Palestine" and "Biden, Biden, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide!"

If the president heard them, he didn’t let them know: Biden focused on greeting members of the children’s choir who performed at the tree lighting. A local official tried to dissuade the protesters from interrupting the ceremony, stressing that it was not a political event. 

Biden’s staunch support for Israel has come at a price as his party finds itself divided over the war in the Gaza Strip. His polling numbers have slumped as younger voters and members of his party stand in favor of the Palestinian people, who have died by the thousands during Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza. 

Retired Brigadier Gen. Don Bolduc shared his insights on the Israel-Hamas war with Fox News on Saturday, calling the cease-fire agreed to by both sides "unbalanced" in favor of Hamas. 

Bolduc said Israel's dual goals to destroy Hamas and secure the release of hostages are "incompatible with each other when it comes to securing decisive military operations on the ground." 

Citing his experience fighting with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Bolduc warned that the international community is "tying one hand behind the Israeli military's back" with demands to stop the fighting.

"I lived this for ten tours in Afghanistan, and I saw how it emboldened the enemy," Bolduc said. "Humanitarian supplies will end up in the hands of Hamas and be taken from the Palestinian civilians. That's just the reality of it." 

He said Israel needs the "political wherewithal" to resist international pressure and finish the mission to destroy Hamas terrorists. 

A convoy of trucks carrying fuel and aid drive in Gaza City's Zeitoun district on November 25, 2023, as medics pray next to an ambulance on the second day of a truce between Israel and Hamas. Hamas is expected to release another 14 Israeli hostages in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, the second day of a four-day truce in their seven-week war. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Fifty trucks carrying humanitarian aid including food, water and medical supplies were sent to the northern Gaza Strip during the truce between Israel and Hamas that began on Friday, Israel said.

This was the first time since the start of the war that a significant amount of aid was deployed to northern Gaza, according to the Israeli Defence Ministry agency that coordinates with the Palestinians.

Both sides have said that fighting will resume once a four-day cease-fire expires, although Israel has said there's a possibility the truce could be extended. Qatari and Egyptian mediators helped negotiate an arrangement for Hamas to release 50 hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Israel has said the cease-fire may be extended one day for every 10 additional hostages released.

Hamas terrorists took some 240 people back to Gaza during the attack, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were brutally murdered.

Since then, Israel has rained bombs on Gaza, killing about 14,000 people, roughly 40% of them children, the Hamas-led Gaza health ministry claims. Hamas does not distinguish between civilian and terrorist deaths and its claimed casualties cannot be independently verified. 

Reuters contributed to this update.

Aviv Asher, 2, her sister Raz Asher, 4, and mother Doron, react as they meet with Yoni, Raz and Aviv's father and Doron's husband, after they returned to Israel to the designated complex at the Schneider Children's Medical Center, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Petah Tikva, Israel, in this handout picture released on November 25, 2023. Schneider Children's Medical Center Spokesperson/Handout via REUTERS.

Four-year-old Raz Asher told her father, "I dreamt we came home," as she sat in his arms on a hospital bed in Israel, 50 days after she was taken captive by Hamas terrorists.

"Now the dream has come true," he replied. 

Raz was released with her two-year-old sister, Aviv and mother Doron on Friday, in the first stage of the Israel-Hamas hostage deal that is set to see another 14 hostages, women and children, released on Saturday.

If the deal goes through as intended, it will see the release of 50 Israeli hostages in return for 150 Palestinian women and teenage prisoners during four days, in which fighting in the Gaza Strip is paused and aid pumped into the enclave.

A second batch of hostages is expected to be released on Saturday. Hamas terrorists took some 240 people captive back to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attack, including civilians, soldiers and foreign nationals.

The father, Yoni Asher, had stayed home in central Israel on that day while his wife took their two girls to visit their grandmother in Kibbutz Nir Oz, close to the border with Gaza. He lost contact with his family after the attack began.

The next time Yoni saw them was in a social media video, showing his wife and two daughters surrounded by terrorists, being taken to Gaza on a vehicle. 

"We'll be going home soon," he told Raz in a video released by Schneider Children's Medical Center, the hospital treating children released by Hamas. 

Reuters contributed to this update.

Reporter Ruth Marks Eglash is one of many journalists who were shown a 43-minute film containing raw footage of Hamas terrorists' Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel. 

"The extreme and horrified reactions in Congress, the United Nations and even in Hollywood to the film — a compilation of body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists, dashcams, traffic cameras, closed-circuit TV and the mobile phones and social media accounts of victims, soldiers and emergency medical workers — have not surprised me," Eglash writes for Fox News. "I will be haunted forever." 

Hamas terrorists brutally killed more than 1,200 Israelis in some 20 civilian communities, army bases and a music festival on Oct. 7, a day now referred to as "Black Saturday" in Israel. Nearly 240 people were taken hostage, including almost 40 children and a dozen mothers. 

Israeli officials say the purpose of showing the video is so that the world will be confronted by Hamas' atrocities. 

"We want the world to see the atrocities that Hamas did during the Oct. 7 massacre, and we urge the world not to look away," Lior Hiatt, spokesperson of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital Thursday. 

"When we say that Hamas is worse than ISIS, this is exactly what we mean," he said. "It is a very difficult film to watch. It is the raw footage taken by the terrorists themselves and shows very graphic images."

Hiatt said that the film has been shown to diplomats, international organizations, influencers and decision-makers at the highest levels, shared by Israel in more than 60 of its embassies and consulates around the world. 

"Not everyone can actually stay and watch the entire movie," the spokesman said. "I’ve seen people crying, I’ve seen people leaving the room and I’ve seen a lot of people shocked to see that those kinds of atrocities were committed against human beings by the monsters from Hamas."

Ruth Marks Eglash contributed to this update.

Thai workers taken hostage by Hamas and later released as part of a deal between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, pose with a member of Thai mission after a medical checkup, in Tel Aviv, Israel, in this handout image released on November 25, 2023. Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Thailand/Handout via REUTERS

Farm worker Vetoon Phoome was one of 10 Thai hostages freed by Hamas on Friday as part of a cease-fire deal between Israel and the terror group. 

His family, who still lives in Thailand, had feared he was dead until their emotional reunion on a video call.

"He told me not to cry, to tell mother I'm coming back," Vetoon's sister, Roongarun Wichagern, told Reuters after speaking with her brother. 

"He said, 'I'm not dead, I'm not dead'," Roongarun said, calling his survival a "miracle".

Vetoon, 33, who has been living in Israel for five years, was one of 10 Thai hostages freed by Hamas during the first truce of a seven-week-old war that started with the Palestinian terrorist group's Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel.

The 10 Thais were among 24 hostages freed on Friday in a deal negotiated in parallel with the truce and an exchange of 39 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Thailand's government said 20 of its nationals are still captive.

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told reporters that the country's foreign minister and army chief will travel to Israel to bring the freed hostages back, adding that his government is still attempting to secure the release of the remaining hostages. 

"We will not stop. We will bring them back," he said, according to Reuters. 

Reuters contributed to this update.

Israeli soldiers walk next to military vehicles during a raid in Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

Israeli media reports that three people were killed by Palestinian factions in the West Bank for allegedly collaborating with Israeli soldiers.

Graphic photos and videos circulating on social media show crowds of people cheering as two bodies were hung on an electric pole and desecrated in Tulkarm. A third was killed in Jenin, according to the Jerusalem Post. 

Israel's N12 news channel identified the two men murdered in Tulkarm as Hamza Mubarak, 31, and Azam Juabra, 29. A bloodthirsty crowd shouted "you traitors!" and "step on your head, you spy" as the bodies of the two men were abused, N12 reported.

The two men were accused of providing the Israeli military with information that to the deaths of three terrorists who belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in a counter-terror raid earlier this month, i24 news reported.

The men reportedly "confessed" in a video recording, saying they received payments for helping the IDF.

"We would like to inform you that there is no immunity for any informer or any traitor, and that whoever is proven to be involved in any case of assassination of our fighters, we will attack him, pursue him and impose a death sentence on him," an organization calling itself "Resistance Security" commented on the executions, i24 News reported.

In this photo provided by Manuel Hernandez Lafuente, the CMA CGM Symi is seen at port in Valencia, Spain, Oct. 22, 2023. A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defense official said Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (Manuel Hernandez Lafuente via AP)

A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire was attacked by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, the Associated Press reported.

The report cited a U.S. defense official who said the CMA CGM was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters. The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the official told the Associated Press. The official declined to elaborate on what intelligence the U.S. military gathered to assess Iran was behind the attack.

The report also cited Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab news channel that politically supports the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, which reported that an Israeli ship had been attacked in the Indian Ocean. The channel cited anonymous sources for the report, which Iranian media later cited, per the Associated Press.

The attack comes as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a wider regional conflict, with Iranian-backed proxy groups harassing Israeli and U.S. stationed in the Middle East. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Egyptian officials say that Hamas is preparing to release 14 more Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 42 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, the Associated Press reported.

The second exchange comes on day two of a four-day cease-fire agreed to by both sides after mediation by U.S., Qatari and Egyptian officials. 

On Friday, Hamas released 24 of the about 240 hostages taken during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison. Those freed from captivity in Gaza were 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and a Filipino.

On Saturday, Hamas provided mediators Egypt and Qatar a list of 14 hostages to be released, and the list has been passed along to Israel, an Egyptian official told the Associated Press. A second Egyptian official confirmed the details, the agency reported. 

Under the terms of the truce, Hamas will release one Israeli hostage for every three Palestinian prisoners Israel frees. Israel has suggested that the cease-fire might be extended one day for every 10 additional hostages released. 

But Israel has vowed to continue its war to eradicate Hamas once the cease-fire has expired. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Israel’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism Michal Cotler-Wunsh told Fox News Digital in a wide-ranging interview about the world’s oldest hatred that the modern proliferation of antisemitism in the U.S. has its origins in an anti-Israel United Nations resolution from 1975.

"We have to understand that the U.S. is experiencing such massive growth in antisemitism, and we see not only the antisemitism that fueled the atrocities of 10/7, but those that actually fueled the responses to the atrocities of 10/7 across North American campuses, on the streets and online. It is part of a decade’s-long process," said Cotler-Wunsh.

The Israeli envoy said, "The world before 10/7 and the world after it, like 9/11, cannot continue as if nothing happened."

The terrorist movement Hamas’ mass murder of 1,200 people on Oct. 7 in southern Israel is widely viewed as the Jewish state’s version of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Cotler-Wunsh took the United Nations to task for passing an antisemitic resolution in 1975 that equated the founding philosophy of Israel — Zionism — with racism. The infamous "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination" resolution was revoked in 1991.

She said, "I would say the strain of antisemitism that is anti-Zionism, the negation of Israel's very right to exist across North America … began with the 1975 Zionism is racism resolution. Soviet propaganda passed at the U.N. has become mainstream across North American campuses in the name of progress."

Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal and Emily Robertson contributed to this report.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Atlanta, Georgia. (WAGA)

Eight pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Friday at a demonstration near Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dozens of protesters holding signs supporting Palestinians marched from the Lenox MARTA station toward Peachtree Road Friday afternoon.

Demonstrators were heard shouting "From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever," as honking cars went by.

Police were seen putting multiple people in zip-tie handcuffs before placing them into transport vehicles while demonstrators demanded their release. Among those taken into police custody was one person who was wearing a sash that read "legal observer," according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement to Fox 5 Atlanta that some of the demonstrators entered the street and refused officers' orders to disperse.

"APD continues to monitor the situation to ensure the safety of shoppers, visitors and demonstrators, and to uphold the law and protect the right to free speech," a spokesperson said.

President Biden said Friday Hamas conducted its brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel in part because of a possible Saudi-Israel normalization deal.

In a short news conference from Nantucket, Massachusetts, Biden outlined one of his theories as to why the attack happened when it did. 

“I cannot prove what I’m about to say,” Biden said. “But I believe one of the reasons why Hamas struck when they did was they knew that I was working very closely with the Saudis and others in the region to bring peace to the region by having recognition of Israel and Israel’s right to exist.” 

Relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia have improved as the Biden administration has been working to broker a deal between the pair by which the Saudis would officially recognize Israeli statehood. 

Diplomacy has improved in recent years between the two nations. 

In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined an optimistic tone to Fox News’ Brett Baier regarding Israeli-Saudi relations.

"I think we're getting closer to peace every day that passes,” Netanyahu said from New York City following his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.  

"The reason we didn't have for a quarter-century any new peace treaties after we made peace with Egypt and Jordan , we didn't have for 25 years a single new peace treaty because everybody said, first you have to satisfy whatever the demands of the Palestinians are," Netanyahu told Baier. "You've got to conclude a peace treaty with the Palestinians. Well, there was only one problem with that. The Palestinians don't want a peace with Israel."