This past Monday, Israel and Hamas decided to prolong their cease-fire for an additional two days. This development raises the possibility of additional hostage exchanges between militant groups and Israeli-incarcerated Palestinians, as well as a longer cessation of their deadliest and most destructive war.
In the fourth exchange, under the initial four-day truce that started on Friday and was about to expire, eleven Israeli women and children who had been freed by Hamas entered Israel on Monday night. According to Qatar, Israel would free 33 Palestinians—mostly teenagers—from its jails.
This past Monday, Israel and Hamas decided to prolong their cease-fire for an additional two days. This development raises the possibility of additional hostage exchanges between militant groups and Israeli-incarcerated Palestinians, as well as a longer cessation of their deadliest and most destructive war.
In the fourth exchange, under the initial four-day truce that started on Friday and was about to expire, eleven Israeli women and children who had been freed by Hamas entered Israel on Monday night. According to Qatar, Israel would free 33 Palestinians—mostly teenagers—from its jails.
The two-day cease-fire agreement, which was announced by Qatar, gives hope for more extensions that would also permit more aid to enter Gaza. Three-quarters of the population have been forced from their homes by weeks of Israeli bombardment, and the situation for the 2.3 million Palestinians there has remained dire.
Israel has declared that for every ten more hostages freed, the cease-fire will be extended by one day. Following Qatar’s announcement, Hamas confirmed that it had consented to a two-day extension “under the same terms.” Qatar is a major conflict mediator alongside the United States and Egypt.
However, following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, Israel says it is still committed to destroying the organization’s military capabilities and putting an end to its 16-year rule over Gaza. That would probably entail extending a ground offensive from Gaza’s destroyed north to the southern region.
With the release of 19 hostages of other nationalities on Monday, the total number of Israelis released under the truce now stands at 50. 117 Palestinians have been freed from Israeli detention centers thus far.
The images of the women and children reuniting with their families have brought Israelis together behind calls to return the approximately 240 people who have been kidnapped by Hamas and other militants, following weeks of national trauma over their kidnapping.
Fourth Release
Three women and nine children, including three-year-old twin girls and their mother, were among the recently freed hostages. They were from the kibbutz Nir Oz, a neighborhood close to Gaza that was severely damaged in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. According to the kibbutz, 49 of its members—including the twins’ father—remain in captivity. The hostages are receiving preliminary medical examinations in Israel prior to being reunited with their families, the Israeli military announced late on Monday.
So far, the majority of the released hostages seem to be in good physical condition. However, due to insufficient care, Elma Abraham, 84, who was freed on Sunday, was airlifted to Israel’s Soroka Medical Center in a life-threatening condition, the hospital reported.
According to Tali Amano, Avraham’s daughter, her mother was “hours from death” when she was taken to the hospital. Amano claimed that although Avraham is sedentary and on a breathing tube, she informed her about the birth of a new great-grandchild while she was being held captive.
According to Amano on Monday, Avraham had a number of chronic illnesses that needed to be treated on a regular basis, but she was stable before she was abducted.
During the truce, 19 people of different nationalities—mostly Thais—have been set free thus far. Thai immigrants to Israel are mostly employed as farm laborers.
The majority of the Palestinian detainees freed thus far were teenagers who were charged with less serious offenses or with throwing stones and firebombs during altercations with Israeli forces. Many Palestinians see Israeli prisoners—including those involved in attacks—as heroes who are fighting against occupation.
Although the released hostages have largely avoided the spotlight, information about their incarceration has begun to surface.
Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were freed on Friday, claimed they had lost weight and received erratic feedings. One described sleeping on a makeshift bed made of pushed-together chairs and eating mostly bread and rice. She claimed that in certain cases, hostages had to wait hours to use the restroom.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council in Washington, praised the truce’s extension.
“We would, of course, hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages,” Kirby stated to reporters.
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, over 13,300 Palestinians have died since the start of the conflict; approximately two-thirds of them were women and children. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. On the Israeli side, over 1,200 people have died; the majority of them were civilians killed in the initial attack. Israel’s ground offensive has resulted in at least 77 soldiers being killed.
Views of the devastation caused by weeks of Israeli bombardment, which leveled entire neighborhoods, were made possible by the truce’s calm.
