MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP
Israel-Hamas war: This Wednesday a “sixth group” of Israeli hostages was released (Photo of the reception of the Israelis upon the arrival of the released hostages on November 29, 2023)
INTERNATIONAL – A few hours before the scheduled expiry of the ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, a source close to Hamas told AFP on Wednesday evening, November 29, that the Palestinian Islamist movement had handed over a “sixth group” of Israeli hostages the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Unless Israel immediately confirmed these releases, Qatar announced in the evening that five of the ten hostages were dual citizens: one Dutch, three Germans, one American. Two Russian citizens and four Thai citizens were also released outside the agreement. In return, Israel will release 30 Palestinians, including 16 minors and 14 women.
At around 11 p.m. Paris time, Egyptian television announced that the hostages had arrived in Egypt.
Since Friday, around ten Israeli hostages, all women and children, have been released every evening by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In return, three times as many Palestinian prisoners, including women and young people under 19, will be released from Israeli prisons.
Hamas is not “satisfied” with Israel’s proposals to continue the ceasefire.
The ceasefire came into force on November 24 for an initial four days and was then extended until 05:00 GMT on Thursday. A source close to Hamas said on Wednesday that the Islamist movement had “agreed” to an extension for “another four days” and the release of new Israeli hostages.
But in the evening, a source within Hamas confirmed that the Palestinian movement viewed Israeli proposals for an extension of the ceasefire as “unsatisfactory.”
Furthermore, this Wednesday evening on X, Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly confirmed that fighting will resume after the “repatriation phase” of the hostages.
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“In recent days I have heard a question: Will Israel resume fighting when this phase of repatriating our abductees is over? My answer is therefore clear: yes. It is impossible for us not to continue the fight to the end. This is my policy, the entire cabinet supports it, the entire government supports it, the soldiers support it, the people support it – and that is exactly what we will do,” he wrote.
Hamas is ready to exchange all Israeli soldiers for all Palestinian prisoners
The ceasefire agreement has already enabled the release of at least 60 Israeli hostages, all civilians, and 180 Palestinian prisoners. In addition, 23 other hostages, mostly Thais living in Israel, were released outside the scope of this agreement.
Since November 24, Hamas has released about 10 women and children every day, compared to three times as many Palestinian prisoners.
Ten Israeli hostages and two Thais, as well as 30 Palestinian prisoners, were released on Tuesday. Hamas said it was holding the majority of the approximately 240 hostages. The others are in the hands of other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.
In the evening, Hamas said it was ready to exchange all imprisoned Israeli soldiers for all Palestinian prisoners.
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