The militant group Hamas released 17 more hostages on Sunday, the 26th of November, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails. It was the third exchange as part of a four-day truce brokered on Friday by Qatar, Egypt and the US. Monday, the 27th of November, is the last day of the truce, reports Reuters.
Hamas reported the release of 13 Israelis, three Thais and one person of Russian nationality, including the American hostage, four-year-old Abigail Edan, who Biden said witnessed the killing of her parents by Hamas militants during an attack on the 7th of October and had been held captive ever since.
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed on Sunday that hostages had successfully returned from Gaza. Hamas also published a video of the hostages’ release.
???? Hamas release a video of today’s hostage handover. pic.twitter.com/mJL973Klu8
— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) November 26, 2023
Hamas has expressed its interest in extending the ceasefire, stressing that Israel must release Palestinian prisoners.
To date, Israel has released 117 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also stated that in his talks with President Joe Biden on Sunday on the release of the hostages, he expressed his willingness to extend the temporary ceasefire if ten hostages were released for every additional day. However, Netanyahu has stressed that once the ceasefire ends, Israel will resume its efforts to achieve its objectives: to dismantle Hamas, to prevent Gaza from returning to its previous state and to secure the release of all hostages.
On Saturday, 13 Israelis and four foreigners were released. On Friday, the first day of the ceasefire, 24 hostages were released by Hamas. According to Reuters, a Palestinian source said that
up to 100 Israeli hostages could be released.
This is the first pause in hostilities in seven weeks, since the 7th of October attack by Hamas, in which they took around 240 hostages and killed 1 200 Israelis. In response, Israel launched a bombardment of the enclave and a ground counter-offensive. According to Hamas-administered health authorities, some 14 800 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds of thousands now are homeless.
Qatar, Egypt, and the US have called for an extension of the ceasefire, but it is unclear whether this will happen.
The hostage release deal ran into problems when Hamas delayed the release on Saturday, demanding that Israel respect the terms of the ceasefire, including allowing aid trucks into northern Gaza.
Qatari diplomats are now monitoring aid deliveries in Gaza and their presence has been confirmed by the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
A UN official said on Sunday that the humanitarian convoy to northern Gaza was delivering the largest aid shipment in more than a month, adding that while aid was being delivered, hundreds of Gazans were heading south in fear of renewed Israeli bombardment if the four-day ceasefire was not extended.
Read also: Expert: ceasefire between Israel and Hamas doesn’t mean the war is over
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