A truce between Israel and Hamas was held on Tuesday for a fifth day after the deal was extended to allow further releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Gaza militants took about 240 captives from southern Israel in an unprecedented October 7 attack that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.

In response, Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas and unleashed an aerial bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza that the Hamas government says have killed nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians.

 

Two-day Truce Extension 

The initial four-day agreement was scheduled to end at 7:00 AM (5:00 GMT) on Tuesday, but key mediator Qatar announced that it had been prolonged by 48 hours, and Hamas confirmed it in a statement.

In the evening, Israeli authorities said that Palestinian militants had released 12 hostages, including 10 Israeli women and two Thai nationals, and that they had arrived in Israel.

A journalist reporting from Rafah, near Gaza’s border with Egypt, said fighters from Hamas and its ally, the Islamic Jihad, handed several hostages to the Red Cross.

Israel’s prison service said that 30 Palestinian prisoners were released on Tuesday under the terms of the deal.

‘Catastrophic’ Humanitarian Situation

Janez Lenarcic, an EU commissioner in charge of crisis management, said on Tuesday that Israeli restrictions on fuel supplies to Gaza are hampering humanitarian access required under a UN resolution.

This came after the Hamas-run health ministry said no fuel had arrived for generators at hospitals in the territory’s north, despite the pause in fighting.

Also on Tuesday, senior UN official Tor Wennesland said that the truce had allowed an increase in aid delivery but warned that “the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic and requires the urgent entry of additional aid and supplies.”

US Plane Delivers Aid

The United States on Tuesday sent the first of three military planes to Egypt with vital humanitarian aid for Gaza, US officials said.

The first Air Force C-17 landed in Egypt with 24.5 metric tons (54,000 pounds) of medical supplies and ready-to-eat food, the US Agency for International Development said.

A French warship sent to Egypt to treat the wounded from Gaza has received its first patients, said Sebastien Lecornu, France’s Armed Forces Minister.

The vessel is equipped with two operating blocs, 40 beds, and 80 medical personnel, he said.

‘Next Phase’ of the Israel-Hamas Deal

US and Israeli intelligence chiefs arrived in Doha to discuss the “next phase” of an Israel-Hamas deal, a source briefed on their visit said on Tuesday.

They will discuss “the next phase of a potential deal,” the source told AFP, requesting anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity, adding that Egyptian officials were also present.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah later this week, a US official said on Monday.

West Bank Violence

Two Palestinian teenagers, aged 14 and 17, were killed in separate clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said.

Since October 7, more than 230 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or in attacks by settlers in the West Bank, according to the ministry.

Khalil Wakim, with AFP