A recent batch of hostages was liberated from captivity in Gaza on Tuesday, November 28, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, as part of an extended truce. Mediators remained engaged in seeking a durable resolution to the seven-week Israel-Hamas war.
A new group of hostages were freed on Tuesday from Gaza captivity in exchange for Palestinian prisoners under an extended truce, as mediators worked for a lasting halt to the seven-week Israel-Hamas war.
Ten Israelis and two foreigners were handed over to the Red Cross and were “inside Israeli territory,” the Israeli Army said.
A journalist saw masked and armed fighters, some from Hamas and others from the Islamic Jihad, hand over the released hostages to Red Cross officials in Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
International figures hailed the pause in hostilities and the release of captives as a cause for hope in the conflict that was sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the extended pause in incidents on Tuesday, though Qatari officials mediating in the conflict said this did not knock the truce off track.
As a two-day extension to the truce appeared to be holding on Tuesday, US and Israeli intelligence chiefs were in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to discuss the “next phase” of the deal, a source briefed on their visit said.
A source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas earlier told the media that Tuesday’s group of 10 Israeli hostages would be freed in return for 30 prisoners held by Israel.
The release of the two foreign hostages came in addition to the release of the 10 Israelis under the terms of the deal.
Palestinian movements denounced what they dubbed “truce violations by the occupier,” and a journalist saw an Israeli tank fire three times in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City as Palestinians attempted to return to their homes.
The Israeli military described the shelling as “warning shots,” saying a tank fired as suspected militants approached army positions. At least one person was hurt, according to the reporter.
The Army also alleged that three explosive devices were detonated near its forces in northern Gaza, “violating the framework of the operational pause.”
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, reported “some minimal breaches,” which, he told a news conference, “did not harm the essence of the agreement.”
Israel has vowed to stick to its war aim of destroying Hamas and rescuing all remaining hostages.
Qatari spokesman Ansari said that his government would use the extension to work for a “sustainable truce.”
The discussions aim “to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal,” the source added.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
