Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the temporary ceasefire in Gaza for a seventh day, the Qatari government announced early Thursday, just before the previous two-day extension expired. While the ceasefire held in Gaza, pausing the brutal war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, there was violence in the other Palestinian territories, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Jerusalem on Thursday for high voltages.
Israeli police said three people were killed in a shooting attack on a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem, which a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, quickly blamed on Hamas.
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“These are apparently Hamas activists who are speaking with two voices here – one voice for a so-called ceasefire and a second voice of terror,” Gavir told reporters at the scene of the attack, according to BBC News. Police said the two gunmen were killed at the scene by Israeli soldiers.
In a statement later on Thursday, Hamas appeared to at least support the attack, if not claim responsibility for it, saying: “As we mourn our martyrs, we confirm that this operation was a natural response to Israel’s unprecedented occupation crimes.” .” He was referring to the suspended military operation in Gaza, the killing of two children in the West Bank on Wednesday and what the group described as “widespread violations faced by our prisoners” in Israeli prisons.
Crime scene investigators work at the scene of an armed attack that killed three people at a bus stop in West Jerusalem, November 30, 2023. Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty
Just hours earlier, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said: said in a statement that under the same parameters as last week, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas would continue for at least another day, which would result in Hamas releasing another group of hostages and Israel releasing another group of Palestinian prisoners. Several hundred more humanitarian aid trucks are also expected to enter the Gaza Strip during the extended ceasefire.
In a post on social media On Thursday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote that the “pause in operations” in the fighting in Gaza would continue, given ongoing mediation efforts for the possible release of more hostages held by Hamas.
During the ceasefire, Israeli intelligence received a daily list of the names of hostages expected to be released by Hamas. In a statement early Thursday, Netanyahu’s office said that under the terms of the agreement, he had been provided with a “list of women and children” and therefore the ceasefire would continue.
The short-term ceasefire between the two sides began on November 24th. It was initially scheduled to last four days, but was extended by another two days. That extension was set to expire at 7 a.m. local time (midnight Eastern) on Thursday before being extended again for a seventh day.
Hectic talks took place in Doha on Wednesday between Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators to try to extend the pause, with both Israel and Hamas signaling they would be open to another deal.
Under the current agreement, about three Palestinian prisoners are released in the West Bank for every hostage released. The hostages released so far have only been women and children, but it is possible that men could also be included in a future deal.
Tensions have now increased this week in the West Bank, where the released prisoners were greeted by large crowds cheering their release and in some cases waving Hamas flags. Two Palestinian boys, ages eight and 15, were killed by IDF troops in a raid on the West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday, Palestinian health authorities said. Security video showed a small group of boys running and one falling to the ground bleeding.
Israeli armored military vehicles enter the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank as troops carry out a raid on the camp, November 29, 2023. Nedal Eshtayah/Anadolu/Getty
The IDF said troops opened fire on people and threw explosives at them, but did not specifically mention the children, who were not seen throwing anything in surveillance video. The military said troops killed two Islamic Jihad fighters in the raid in Jenin.
The temporary ceasefire in the densely populated Palestinian enclave has allowed dozens of hostages to be released, widely praised by the international community, and there have been no signs it could be derailed by ongoing clashes and violence outside the Gaza Strip.
Sixteen hostages, including an American woman, were released by Hamas on Wednesday, bringing the total number of hostages held by Hamas released since the ceasefire began to around 100. In return, around 210 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons, including 30 Palestinians Wednesday, Qatar said.
Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israeli operations in Gaza would resume following the return of all hostages by Hamas.
“In recent days I have heard a question: Will Israel return to fighting after completing this phase of the return of our hostages? My answer is a resounding yes,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “There is no situation where we don’t keep fighting until the end.”
According to the Israeli military, more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed by Hamas militants during their invasion of southern Israel on October 7.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli retaliation and airstrikes
—Haley Ott and Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.
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