A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was saved from the brink of failure Saturday when the terror group freed a second group of 13 Israeli hostages and four foreigners after hours of agonizing delay.
Hamas confirmed that the deal was moving forward after initially claiming that Israel had reneged on a four-day ceasefire.
Red Cross vans carrying freed prisoners were photographed as they left Gaza through the Rafah crossing into Egypt on their way to Israel.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had gathered for emergency talks with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, and security chiefs over Hamas’s delay in plans to release a second wave of Israeli hostages, Haaretz reported.
The terror group said it was halted because of “non-compliance” with the terms of the Israeli ceasefire agreement, claiming that the number of aid trucks reaching northern Gaza on Saturday was only half of what was promised – a claim that Israel dismissed.
At least 70 aid trucks carrying food, water, fuel and medical supplies entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on Saturday, a border crossing spokesman told CNN. The aid includes 150,000 liters of fuel and four trucks with natural gas for cooking as part of the ceasefire agreement, which will allow 200 aid trucks to enter the war-torn region.
The painful negotiations came on the second day of a four-day ceasefire between the terror group and the Israeli government, and prevented the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners who were to be given in exchange for 17 hostages kidnapped in a brutal Hamas raid. on Oct. 7
“This is manipulation by [Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar,” former hostage negotiator Yaron Blum told the Times of Israel.
Gazans flock to an outdoor market amid piles of rubble on Saturday as they venture to buy food supplies on the second day of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire.AP Food prices have skyrocketed in Gaza since fighting began last month.AP
In other Saturday developments:
- Shoppers swarmed central Gaza’s Nuseirat market as war-weary civilians stocked up on food supplies on the second day of a ceasefire with Israel, according to video shot by photojournalist Attia Darwish. Food and drink prices in the war-torn Gaza Strip have jumped 10 percent since last month, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said, while vegetable prices jumped by 32 percent.
- President Biden called Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to urge an immediate resolution to the hostage standoff, a National Security Council spokesman told the Times of Israel. Biden, in Nantucket for the holiday weekend, ignored shouted questions about American prisoners still in custody as he went Christmas shopping with family members.
- A would-be suicide bomber is among convicted Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli custody in exchange for a second group of hostages. Israa Jaabis was arrested in 2015 after detonating a gas canister in her car during a traffic stop as she headed for an intended suicide bombing, the Times of Israel reported.
- A container ship owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer was targeted by a suspected Iranian drone while traveling through international waters in the Indian Ocean, a US defense official said. No crew members of the CMA CGM Symi were injured in the attack, but the ship suffered minor damage when the drone exploded. Ofer recently resigned from the board of Harvard’s Kennedy School in protest of its lukewarm response to the October 7 massacre.
- Heartbreaking pictures and videos have emerged of the first round of freeing hostages who have been reunited with their loved ones nearly two months after they were abducted.
- Thousands of pro-Palestinian marchers descended on central London to call for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, holding signs reading “Stop the War on Gaza” and “Ceasefire Now!”
No Americans are expected to be included in Saturday’s hostage release, a US official told CNN.
“The president is guaranteeing the release of two Americans as pilots to this larger hostage release,” the White House official said. “We’re still early in the process … We’re hoping it will include three dual-national women and children, who are American citizens.”
Container ship CMA CGM Symi, owned by an Israeli billionaire, was targeted by Iranian drones in the Indian Ocean.AP
Heartbreaking details of the freed hostages’ experience in captivity began to emerge Saturday as the first group of 24 hostages freed on Friday, including 13 Israeli women and children, were reunited with their families.
Some of the hostages have only been given rice to eat for the past two weeks because food stores in Gaza ran out, Channel 12 reported. Others said that Gazans threw stones at their Red Cross van as they left, making them fear for their safety at last minute before going home.
Ruti Monder, 78, learned of her son Roy’s murder during her detention over the radio, she told tearful loved ones on Friday, the Times of Israel said.
Video footage shows Ruti’s daughter, Keren Monder, learning that her father, 78-year-old Avraham, is also a hostage — evidence that Israeli prisoners are being held in separate locations.
“So he wasn’t killed,” Keren, 55, was heard saying.
But Hannah Katzier, 77, only learned that her husband had been killed and her son kidnapped after her own ordeal of 49 days.
Rami Katzier, 79, was killed by Hamas terrorists in the family’s safe room on October 7, the Times of Israel reported. Anak Elad remained in captivity.
A series of photos released by the Israel Defense Forces show their heartwarming efforts to prepare for the arrival of dozens of children who were held captive in dire conditions for nearly seven weeks.
Child-sized sets of noise-cancelling headphones await the youngsters in the transport helicopter, while teddy bears, stickers, toys and oversized pillows have been prepared for them at the shelter facility where they will be examined by medical staff before being reunited with the waiting them. family.
Earlier on Saturday, negotiations were underway to extend the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas “by a day or two,” Israel’s Channel 12 reported, citing a report from Egypt’s Al-Cahra Al-Akhbariya channel.
“Egypt has received positive indications from all sides to extend the ceasefire,” the report said.
The four-day temporary ceasefire agreement stipulated that the pause could be extended by one more day for each additional group of 10 hostages returned to Israel, the Times of Israel reported – but the status of the talks was unclear amid a delay in Saturday’s hostage release. .
Israeli soldiers rest near the Israel-Gaza border Saturday as they await the release of a second group of hostages.AP An IDF soldier takes a nap at a camp in southern Israel as a ceasefire continues.AP
Hamas has located an additional 10 to 20 potential hostages for release, Haaretz reports – while Israeli officials estimate that Hamas has ready access to around 30 more hostages, in addition to the 50 included in the current negotiating terms.
Separately, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. General Herzi Halevi said the Israeli military had no intention of stopping its war against Hamas – and was using the pause in hostilities to “learn, to prepare our abilities better and also to rest a little.”
“We do not intend, do not want, and are not ready to stop this effort before we return all the hostages,” Halevi told a group of soldiers Saturday, adding that the IDF’s fierce assault on Gaza had made the hostage deal possible. “It is our moral responsibility to bring them back.” .
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
