Hamas say they are willing to extend truce for four more days which would allow them to locate and free hostages held by other groups, after 12 more captives were freed overnight
- Hamas told mediators that the terror group is willing to extend truce by four days
Hamas today said they are willing to extend a truce for four more days which would give them time to locate and free more Israeli hostages held by other terror groups.
A current truce is scheduled to expire early on Thursday after a six-day pause in the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas, which was sparked by the terrorists massacring 1,200 Israelis on October 7.
With 60 Israeli hostages and 180 Palestinian prisoners already released and more set to walk free today under the agreement, Qatari mediators said they were working for a ‘sustainable ceasefire’.
And Hamas today ‘informed the mediators that it is willing to extend the truce for four days’, a source close to the terror group said after 12 more captives were freed overnight.
If Israel agrees to this, Hamas ‘would be able to release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties hold during this period, according to the terms of the truce,’ the source added.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told a Doha news conference on Tuesday that negotiators were seeking ‘a sustainable truce that will lead to further negotiations and eventually to an end… to this war.’
Two hostages are flanked by Hamas terrorists as they are released to members of the Red Cross on Tuesday night
An Israeli hostage is flanked by Hamas gunmen as she is handed over to members of the Red Cross in Rafah, Gaza, on Tuesday night
Mia, 17, was filmed clutching her pet dog Bella as she was flanked by Hamas fighters during the exchange on Tuesday night
After a 48-hour extension of an initial four-day truce, a new group of 12 Israeli and foreign hostages was freed from Gaza on Tuesday night, with 30 Palestinians released by Israel.
The Israelis in the group were named as 36-year-old Rimon Kirsht, whose husband remains a hostage, Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and her daughter Mia, 17, who was filmed clutching her pet dog Bella as she was flanked by Hamas fighters.
The group also includes Mia’s aunt Clara Merman, 63, Argentina-born Ofelia Roitman, 77, Ditza Herman, 84, Tamar Metzger, 78, Merav Tal, 53, Philippines-born Noralin Babdilla, 60, and Ada Sagi, 75, whose British son Noam has been campaigning in Israel and London for her release.
The fifth group of hostages is also said to include two foreign nationals, who Israel says are from Thailand but have not yet been named, bringing the number of hostages freed overnight to 12.
Pictures show the captives being escorted by balaclava-clad Hamas terrorists inside Gaza as they prepared to hand them over to the Red Cross and Israel, with crowds gathered around filming and jeering.
Israel in return released 30 Palestinian prisoners from detention centres in the West Bank and Jerusalem as per the terms of the agreement.
Now, officials are working to extend the ceasefire, with mediator Qatar signalling it was hoping for a more durable arrangement.
‘Our main focus right now, and our hope, is to reach a sustainable truce that will lead to further negotiations and eventually to an end… to this war,’ foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told a Doha news conference.
‘However, we are working with what we have. And what we have right now is the provision to the agreement that allows us to extend days as long as Hamas is able to guarantee the release of at least 10 hostages.’
A teenage hostage clutches her dog, a Shih Tzu called Bella, as she is flanked by Hamas gunmen during her release
Hamas fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah
Family members arrive at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv district, as hostages are expected to be released amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel
One of the hostages was in a wheelchair as she was taken by Hamas fighters to be handed over to Israel
Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters speak with members of the Red Cross during the release of hostages in Rafah
The exchange of hostages and prisoners last night came as the reprieve in large-scale fighting appeared to be hanging in the balance after the IDF and Hamas traded accusations that the other side had violated the agreement for the first time since it came into force.
Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) claimed three explosive devices were detonated near its troops at two sites in northern Gaza, with terrorists at one location then allegedly opening fire on them, which they returned gunfire.
Emily Hand’s father vows to help her through the trauma of spending her ninth birthday running from missile strikes in Gaza – as hopes rise the ceasefire could be extended
Hamas also accused Israel of committing a ‘blatant breach of the ceasefire,’ which it said its fighters responded to, without providing details. Both sides have claimed they are committed to the ongoing ceasefire.
One more set of hostages is expected to be released by Hamas later today ahead of the ceasefire’s expiration, with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remaining resolute in his intention to crush Hamas as soon as the agreed-upon peace deal comes to an end.
Negotiators are desperately calling on both sides to extend the pause further, Egypt and Qatar have said, with international calls for a prolonged ceasefire mounting.
A senior diplomatic source in the Knesset told The Times of Israel of negotiations to prolong the truce: ‘If there is a concrete proposal, the cabinet will consider it, but there hasn’t been anything like that.
‘If we see it’s a serious proposal, we’ll look into it.’
The family of the youngest hostage held by Hamas yesterday made fresh pleas for his return as it was confirmed he was not on the list for release.
Ten-month-old Kfir Bibas has been missing with his father Yarden, wife Shiri, 32, and their son Ariel, four, since October 7, with family members hoping they would be returned during the extended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
But an IDF spokesperson said Shiri, Ariel and Kfir are believed to have been handed off to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) – a jihadist group that seeks to destroy Israel and has historically rejected any diplomatic engagement with Tel-Aviv.
Those who have been released now face a long road to overcoming the trauma of their extended captivity in Gaza.
The father of Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli who was held hostage by Hamas for 50 days, has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to help his nine-year-old daughter recover after revealing how she spent her ninth birthday running from missile strikes in Gaza.
Four days after his daughter’s emotional release, Mr Hand told The Sun: ‘She was a happy noisy kid, now she whispers. She’s been terrorised by terrorists in hell but as her dad it’s my job to make it better and I will.’
Teenage hostage Mia was pictured flanked by Hamas fighters and clutching a dog during her release
Noam Sagi (L), 53, pictured with his mother, Ada Sagi (R)
Hopes that Hamas could eventually return all hostages to Israel without issue were dashed last night when it emerged that as many as 40 people taken during the ruthless October 7 attacks – including ten-month-old Kfir Bibas – are no longer under the captivity of the Palestinian group
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz
The image of the two young boys being carried by their weeping mother, Shiri, as they were marched from their homes was one of the most striking to be published in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war
Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas’ military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza.
That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south.
About 1,200 people were killed in Israel during Hamas’s bloody invasion on October 7 that ignited the war.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Roughly 240 hostages were captured by Hamas, with just over 160 thought to still be in captivity following a series of exchanges with Palestinian prisoners.
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