Incredible moment 'hero' Israeli hostage stares down masked Hamas terrorist after she is finally released following 53 days in captivity in war-torn Gaza

This is the incredible moment a 'hero' Israeli hostage stared down a masked Hamas terrorist as she was finally released following 53 days in captivity.

Rimon Kirsht, 36, was part of the fifth group of Israeli and foreign hostages who were handed back over to Israel yesterday as part of a fragile ceasefire deal which is currently set to end tomorrow morning.

International mediators are working to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas terrorists to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel's air and ground offensive.

As Ms Kirsht was released from her captors last night, she stopped and stared one of the balaclava-clad Hamas gunmen down before cocking her head to the side and walking away with fellow hostage Merav Tal. 

The defiant act in the face of the ruthless terrorists who slaughtered 1,200 people and took 240 hostages back to Gaza on October 7 was lauded by social media users.

Screenwriter Lee Kern said: 'Look at this Israeli hero giving defiance to a masked terrorist with a machine gun.'

Tammy Rahamimoff-Honig, who works for the Israel Foreign Ministry, added: 'Rimon Kirsht is the new definition of defiance.'

Others hailed her as 'brave' and courageous' while another user wrote: 'That took guts particularly with the jeering crowd & the masked Hamas terrorists.'

Abducted from home in Nirim, 36-year-old Ms Kirsht was taken along with her partner Yagev Buchstab, 34, who has not yet been released.

The terrified woman sent her mother a voice message at around 8.30am on October 7, a relative told the media. The message ended with the sounds of terrorists shouting and firing shots.

Hours later, when Israeli security forces asked residents of the community to gather, Ms Kirsht and Mr Buchstab were missing and their house was empty.

Kirsht, an animal lover and an alternative medicine professional, appeared in a video released by Hamas on October 30, showing her alongside Danielle Aloni - who was freed on Friday - and another hostage, Yelena Trupanov, who has not been released.

Hostages released yesterday also included Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and her daughter Mia, 17, who was filmed clutching her pet dog Bella as she was flanked by Hamas fighters.

Mia's aunt Clara Merman, 63, Argentina-born Ofelia Roitman, 77, Ditza Herman, 84, Tamar Metzger, 78, Merav Tal, 53, Philippines-born Noralin Babdilla, 60, and Ada Sagi, 75, whose British son Noam has been campaigning in Israel and London for her release, were also released.

Pictures showed the captives being escorted by armed Hamas terrorists inside Gaza as they prepared to hand them over to the Red Cross and Israel, with crowds gathered around filming and jeering. 

Hamas sparked more anger today after claiming, without providing evidence, that ten-month-old baby Kfir Bibas, his brother Ariel and mother Shiri were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The family of Kfir Bibas have expressed hope that claims he was killed along with his brother and mother in an airstrike will be found to be a lie. 

The IDF, which slammed Hamas as 'cruel and inhuman', said they have spoken to the Bibas family about the claims, which came in the middle of last-minute negotiations to extend the truce between the two sides.

If Hamas' claims do turn out to be untrue, it will be another example of the cruel mind games used by the terrorists ever since they launched their barbaric assault on Israel.

Two Russian-Israeli women freed by Hamas entered Israel Wednesday evening, the military said. The release was expected to be followed by the swap of 10 more hostages in Gaza for 30 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Israel has welcomed the release of dozens of hostages in recent days and says it will maintain the truce if Hamas keeps freeing captives.

Israel has agreed to extend the truce by one day for every 10 militant-held hostages who are freed. The ceasefire, which was originally set to expire on Monday, has paused the deadliest fighting between Israel and Palestinians in decades.

However, Israel has vowed to resume the war in an effort to end Hamas' 16-year rule of Gaza, but it's facing mounting international pressure to extend the truce and spare southern Gaza a devastating ground offensive like the one that has demolished much of the north.

Hamas' ability to negotiate and implement the ceasefire suggests that Israel's air and ground campaigns have not seriously challenged the group's control of Gaza, despite killing thousands of Palestinians and driving three out of four people in the territory from their homes.

Those who have been released now face a long road to overcoming the trauma of their extended captivity in Gaza.

The father of Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli who was held hostage by Hamas for 50 days, has vowed to do 'whatever it takes' to help his nine-year-old daughter recover after revealing how she spent her ninth birthday running from missile strikes in Gaza.

Four days after his daughter's emotional release, Mr Hand told The Sun: 'She was a happy noisy kid, now she whispers. She's been terrorised by terrorists in hell but as her dad it's my job to make it better and I will.'