2023-11-27 02:45:49
The agreement between Israel and Hamas is the release of at least 50 Israeli citizens and about 150 imprisoned Palestinians in four days of truce that ends today, Monday.
So far, Tel Aviv has released 78 Palestinian women and adolescents, most of whom were serving sentences for attacks on authority.
(Also read: Netanyahu enters Gaza for the first time since the war with Hamas broke out)
While Hamas has freed a total of 58 people: 40 Israelis, 17 Thais and one Filipino.
Although on Saturday the truce was hanging by a thread due to accusations from the parties, the United States and France believe that it is appropriate to maintain the ceasefire. US President Joe Biden yesterday celebrated the releases and said that he works for the “two-state solution” as the “only way to guarantee the long-term security” of both Israelis and Palestinians.
He also expressed affection for the release of Abigail Edan, the four-year-old American girl kidnapped by Hamas.
The young woman was returned to Israel.
On the other hand, Paris maintains a position aligned with that of the United States. Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna asked that the truce in Gaza be extended to allow the entry of humanitarian aid and gain options for a definitive ceasefire, al time that he proposed to Israel “other methods” to combat the Islamist group Hamas.
The head of French diplomacy indicated that prolonging the current situation will allow more hostages to be released, would open the door to greater humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population and could serve as the basis for a definitive ceasefire.
(Also read: Photos: Who are the 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday?)
Hamas said in a statement broadcast on Telegram that it was trying to extend the truce and thereby achieve more releases, since it has almost 200 kidnapped people in its possession. So far, those released are in good health.
Netanyahu in Gaza
Although everything aims to minimize hostilities, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netayahu, entered the Gaza Strip yesterday for the first time since the war with Hamas broke out on October 7, and assured that his troops will resume the offensive until ” eliminate” the Islamist group when the temporary ceasefire ends.
“We have three objectives for this war: eliminate Hamas, recover all our kidnapped people and guarantee that Gaza does not become a threat to the State of Israel again,” Netanyahu said during a tour of the Palestinian enclave, in which he visited a Hamas tunnel and met with Israeli troops deployed in the area.
“We will continue until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us and we are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will and the determination to achieve all the objectives of the war, and we will do it,” the president added, according to a statement from his office.
Netanyahu talks with some soldiers.
The Islamic group carried out a massive attack against Israel on October 7 that included the launching of thousands of rockets and the infiltration of some 3,000 militiamen who massacred some 1,200 people and kidnapped another 240 in Israeli villages near the Strip.
Immediately, Israel declared war and its air, naval and land forces began a strong offensive on the Palestinian enclave that has left more than 14,800 dead – most of them children and women – and that did not stop until last Friday, when both parties agreed a four-day ceasefire.
ANA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
With information from Efe
#releases #mark #extension #IsraelHamas #truce #Middle #East #International