Israel and Hamas haven’t yet agreed to extend by one more day a truce under which hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and aid flows into the war-devastated Gaza Strip on Thursday evening, November 30.
Militants took about 240 captives from southern Israel during an unprecedented October 7 attack that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. In response, a relentless Israeli campaign of air, artillery and naval bombardment alongside a ground offensive has killed nearly 15,000 people, according to Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
Here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:
New Hostages-Prisoners Exchange
Hamas released 8 Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip on Thursday as part of a one-day truce extension. “All of them are alive,” said the source, who was not authorized to speak to the media and asked to remain anonymous.
Two women held in the Gaza Strip were brought back into Israel, Israeli authorities said, later announcing six more hostages had been handed over to the Red Cross and were “on their way” back home.
Minutes before the halt in fighting was to expire at 0500 GMT on Thursday, Israel’s military said it would be prolonged. The Prime Minister’s office subsequently said it had received a new list of women and children hostages to be released by Hamas, “and therefore the truce will continue.”
The pause began on Friday for an initial four days and was then prolonged by two days before the latest one-day extension. As its expiry date approaches, the question of its extension remains unresolved, with both sides having declared their readiness to resume hostilities.
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Hamas Claims Jerusalem Shooting
However, an attack claimed by Hamas in Jerusalem could tip the balance dangerously in favor of renewed hostilities. The attack, which left three people dead on Thursday, took place shortly after the truce was extended.
Police said the two gunmen from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem opened fire on people near a bus stop on the western side of Jerusalem. “Two terrorists arrived in a car, one of them armed with an M-16 and the other with a pistol,” and began shooting, Jerusalem police chief Doron Turgeman told reporters.
The attackers were shot dead by two off-duty soldiers and a civilian, police said.
In a statement issued later, Hamas called the attack “a natural response to the unprecedented crimes of the occupier (Israel) in the Gaza Strip and against children in Jenin” in the West Bank, where an Israeli army raid this week killed an eight-year-old boy and a teenager.
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Blinken Pushes for Truce Extension
Nevertheless, international pressure on Israel could finally force Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to accept a possible renewed prolongation. Visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli leaders on Thursday that the truce in war with Hamas was “producing results” and should continue.
Blinken, on his third trip to the region since the conflict erupted, also stressed it was “imperative” to protect civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip should fighting resume.
“We have seen over the last week the very positive development of hostages coming home, being reunited with their families,” Blinken said in his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. “It’s also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately.”
Blinken later arrived in Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, where he was due to meet with president Mahmoud Abbas.
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Renewed Houthi Threats
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have confirmed their willingness to resume military operations against Israel if it decides to resume its offensive in Gaza on Thursday.
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the Yemeni armed forces said they would not hesitate to extend their military operations against the Jewish state to include targets they might not expect on land or at sea. This would includes boarding Israeli ships in the Red Sea and other measures, according to the Yemeni Press Agency.
The Houthis confirmed that their military operations would cease as soon as the war in Gaza comes to an end. They also said that any US action against the group would be seen as a declaration of war, amid growing fears that Israel’s war on Gaza is hampering US and UN efforts to reach a lasting peace agreement in Yemen.
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
