Shortly after officials announced an agreement between the Palestinian group and Israel to extend a temporary cease-fire in the Gaza Strip for an additional two days, Hamas on Monday freed another group of hostages.
The 11 hostages have returned to Israeli territory, according to confirmation from Israel’s military and security services. About three hours prior, the Red Cross had announced that the liberated group had been placed under its care.
There are three French citizens, two German citizens, and six Argentinean citizens among the group, according to Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Al-Ansari, Israel is freeing 33 Palestinians from Israeli jails, including three women and thirty minors.
A two-day extension of the temporary cease-fire, which started on Friday and was originally scheduled to last four days, was announced earlier on Monday by the mediating nation of Qatar.
“The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” Al-Ansari wrote on social media.
Shortly after Qatar’s announcement, John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, confirmed the extension during a press briefing. Kirby stated that over the next two days, Hamas has consented to return twenty more hostages held in Gaza to Israel and that they are attempting to prolong the cease-fire even further.
The announcement was made following the return home over the weekend of over 100 Palestinian prisoners and dozens of Israeli hostages, including 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan, the first American released from Hamas-held Gaza. Monday was still scheduled for the release of another group of hostages and another group of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.
The fighting pause was supposed to end at seven in the morning. Tuesday morning local time, or midnight Eastern, but Israel had stated it would be willing to add a day to the agreement for each ten more hostages that Hamas released. Additionally, earlier on Monday, a Hamas representative stated that the group desired to prolong the ceasefire.
Following the deadly attacks on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7 and the Israeli military’s subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, ongoing negotiations resulted in the first ceasefire in hostilities since the start of the war last week.
As per the conditions of the temporary truce agreement mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, Hamas committed to freeing a minimum of fifty women and children who were abducted in Israel during the October 7th attack and have been detained in Gaza ever since. In exchange, Israel promised to release some 150 Palestinian women and children who had been imprisoned in Israeli facilities and to uphold a cease-fire that had allowed humanitarian supplies to enter the Gaza Strip, which had been severely damaged by airstrikes during the conflict.
While the short-term agreement initially stipulated a four-day cease-fire, with Monday marking the fourth and final day, Israel had made it known in public that it would be open to extending the cease-fire by one day for each of the ten hostages that Hamas released. According to Israeli officials, militants had taken about 240 hostages from Israel on October 7, some of whom were foreign nationals.
Following three previous rounds of releases, the most recent hostage release occurred on Monday. Israel freed 39 Palestinian women and teenagers who had been detained there on each of those days, for a total of 117 releases thus far.
According to Israeli officials, 17 hostages—14 Israeli citizens and three foreign nationals—were freed on Sunday and returned to Israel. Among them was 4-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Mor Edan, the youngest American citizen in captivity.
President Biden confirmed on Sunday that among the hostages released by Hamas was Abigail Mor Edan, the youngest American held captive by the organization.
President Biden stated on Sunday, “She’s free, and she’s in Israel now,” adding that she had “been through a terrible trauma.”
According to Mr. Biden, Abigail witnessed her mother’s murder. According to Mr. Biden, the little girl fled to her father, who was shot dead while protecting her with his body, and then she ran to her neighbors for assistance.
“What she endured is unthinkable,” he declared.
“There are no words to express our relief and gratitude that Abigail is safe and coming home,” the young girl’s family said in a statement.
After several hours, Hamas freed the second group of hostages, comprising seventeen individuals, from Gaza late on Saturday night. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement stating that four of the hostages who were freed that night are Thai nationals and thirteen are Israelis. According to the prime minister’s office, seven Israeli children, ages three to sixteen, were among the group.
24 hostages—13 Israelis, ten Thai nationals, and one Filipino—were freed by Hamas on Friday, according to officials.
“We just completed the return of the first of our hostages: children, their mothers, and additional women,” Netanyahu stated on Friday. “Each of them is an entire world. But I emphasize to you, the families, and to you, citizens of Israel: we are committed to returning all the hostages. This is one of the aims of the war, and we are committed to achieving all the aims of the war.”
