Status: 29.11.2023, 05:38 a.m.
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Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters hand over released hostages to the Red Cross in Rafah. © Stringer/dpa
During the ceasefire, Hamas released dozens of Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip. Whether the agreement, which is about to end, will be extended will be decided far away from the theater of war. The overview.
Tel Aviv - Following the release of another group of hostages, negotiations continue to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza war, which ends on Thursday morning.
The U.S. said it would continue to work with Israel, Qatar and Egypt to see if the pauses could be extended further. Even today, hostages can be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners - according to media reports, Israel received another list of names of detained hostages from the terrorist organization Hamas. The G7 countries also called for an extension of the ceasefire.
On Tuesday evening, the Islamists released ten Israelis and two foreigners, including a woman with German citizenship. She was the eleventh German-Israeli citizen to be released. During the pause in the fighting, which has been in force since Friday, a total of 81 hostages were released. Of these, 61 are Israelis, some of whom have other citizenships, and 20 are foreigners. In return, Israel has so far released 180 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons.
The Gulf emirate of Qatar, Egypt and the United States are mediating in the talks on the ceasefire. On Tuesday, CIA Director William Burns and the head of Israel's foreign intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, arrived in Doha to talk to Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman Al Thani about extending the pause, according to information from the German Press Agency. Qatar has good contacts with the organization. The top Hamas leadership lives in the Gulf emirate.
Israel Receives Another Hostage List for Release
As in previous days, Hamas sent another list of hostages to be released, according to media reports. The Times of Israel, citing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, reported that the affected families of the hostages had been notified, but did not give an exact figure. It would be the sixth group of hostages to be released from the hands of the Islamists during the pause in the fighting.
In exchange for the release of the 30 hostages on Tuesday evening, Israel released another group of Palestinians from Israeli jails. All 15 detainees have been released from various prisons, the Israel Prison Authority said. According to this information, there were 15 female prisoners, some still young - and 14 male minors, the youngest was <> years old. The Palestinian prisoners who have been released so far have been convicted of stabbing Israelis, arson, and attacks with firebombs or stones.
G7 countries want longer ceasefire
Before the ceasefire expired, the Group of Seven economically strong democracies (G7) spoke out during the night in favour of an extension of the agreement and demanded the release of all hostages. "If there are longer breaks beyond those two days, then you know we're in favor of it, and we're going to continue to work on it," said U.S. National Security Council communications director John Kirby. The U.S. government wants all hostages to be released. The G7 foreign ministers of the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and Canada called for the same.
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Washington hopes that more hostages with U.S. citizenship will be released, Kirby said. So far, a four-year-old American girl who witnessed the murder of her parents in the Hamas massacre has been among those released. The government believes that two more women with U.S. citizenship are still being held. Another seven with a U.S. passport are considered missing — it's not clear if they're among the hostages.
Netanyahu insists on military destruction of Hamas
Netanyahu reaffirmed the goal of the military destruction of Hamas, despite the ongoing ceasefire. He did not say how long the ceasefire could last. "We have agreed that the women and children and the foreign hostages will be released first. After that happens, we will continue the fighting," Netanyahu told Welt TV in an interview published on Tuesday, conducted in English and translated into German by Welt TV.
Hamas has committed the worst murders and will do so again, the conservative leader said. "We have no choice but to destroy Hamas," he said. At the same time, Israel will continue to do everything in its power to spare civilians in the Gaza Strip as much as possible. However, according to Hamas, almost 15,000 people have already been killed and around 36,000 injured. Another 7000,<> residents of the coastal strip are missing.
Hamas took Israeli teenagers hostage with dog
There was a small surprise at the hostage exchange on Tuesday: One of the released had her dog Bella with her during the 52 days in captivity. Netanyahu's office released a photo of the 17-year-old seen back in Israel with her mother, who was also released, and her Shih-Tzu dog, Bella. The young woman had been abducted to the Gaza Strip along with other family members and had kept the dog with her.
What is becoming important today
Israel is waiting for the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The UN Security Council, chaired by China, will meet in New York in the afternoon German time. At the end of his trip to the Middle East, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier talks with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani about the Middle East conflict and the release of hostages. The Islamist organization Hamas called for worldwide solidarity protests for the people of the Gaza Strip. Dpa