Blinken arrives in Israel to press for extending the truce

As of today (Wednesday), the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip has released 60 women and children who were its hostages, some of whom have dual citizenship, under a truce agreement with Israel that also stipulates a ceasefire and the release of detainees from Israeli prisons.

In a report by Agence France-Presse, Israel released 180 Palestinian detainees under the agreement. Hamas also released 23 of its hostages outside the framework of the agreement, the majority of whom were Thai workers.

A four-day truce was agreed upon with mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, before it was extended for an additional two days. Negotiations are underway for an additional extension.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will arrive in Israel on Thursday to press for extending the truce as well.

What did this truce entail, and what are the justifications for its possible extension for both sides?

How many hostages are still being held?

The Israeli authorities say that Hamas took 240 hostages during its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, and among them, according to Agence France-Presse estimates, there are still 130 detainees in the Gaza Strip, including at least 36 women. And children.

The Hamas movement announced weeks ago that sixty hostages were killed as a result of the violent Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip in response to the bloody Hamas attack, which claimed the lives of nearly 15,000 people, according to the Hamas government.

The bodies of dead people kept by both sides could be part of the negotiations at a certain stage.

In Israel, 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack, most of them civilians, according to the Israeli authorities.

What is the benefit of the truce for Hamas?

The longer the ceasefire lasts, the more opportunity there will be for Hamas to rearrange its situation after the devastating bombing of the Gaza Strip and the Israeli ground attack that began on October 27, and to re-equip its fighters.

The head of the media department of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Daoud Shehab, told Agence France-Presse today: “This truce meets humanitarian needs as well as tactical and field needs.”

He added: “The main goal is to give our people an opportunity to catch their breath, heal their wounds, and return to their homes to inspect them and the possibility of searching for the martyrs, extracting them from under the rubble, and burying them.” As well as “pressure to deliver the largest amount of aid to the Gaza Strip, especially its northern part, although this was not achieved as desired.”

Under the truce, large amounts of aid entered the sector, which Israel has imposed a siege on since October 9, depriving it of water, electricity, and fuel.

This aid allows Gaza’s 2.4 million residents, 1.7 million of whom were displaced, to catch their breath.

Analysts believe that the truce is a “gift” to Hamas, which previously said: Israel’s acceptance of negotiating with it regarding hostages and prisoners is a “victory.”

After Israel announced its determination to eliminate Hamas, every time the Palestinian movement succeeds in surviving and continuing to rule Gaza is a “victory” for it.

The release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages caused an increase in the popularity of Hamas in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, and which constitutes the stronghold of the Fatah movement led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Most of the detainees released from Israeli prisons come from the West Bank.

What role do other Palestinian groups play?

On Tuesday evening, for the first time, the Islamic Jihad Movement participated with the Hamas movement in handing over the fifth batch of hostages to the International Red Cross, according to what Agence France-Presse journalists monitored. This confirms that the “Jihad Movement” is also holding hostages.

Islamic Jihad said more than once that it is fighting the Israeli army alongside the Hamas movement.

A Hamas spokesman indicated today that some of the remaining hostages are being held by the Islamic Jihad Movement and other unspecified groups.

However, sources indicated that some might want to exchange the hostages for money.

What does the truce achieve for the Israeli government?

The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under internal pressure to ensure the return of all hostages.

The longer the truce lasts, the more hostages will be released.

At the same time, extending the truce leads to the dissipation of military momentum against the Hamas movement, which Israel wants to “crush,” while diplomatic pressure mounts against the resumption of military operations and the associated devastating humanitarian consequences.

How long can the extension of the calm last?

The current truce agreement includes only women and children as hostages in exchange for Palestinian female prisoners and children under the age of 19.

As the number of women and children hostages decreases, the spotlight is now focused on the older men, and perhaps the bodies.

Perhaps what will be most difficult regarding the issue of hostages is the exchange of Israeli army soldiers and men who are of fighting age in Israel (they are considered in the reserve until the age of forty).

According to Agence France-Presse estimates, there are at least 11 male and female soldiers (7 male and 4 female soldiers) detained by Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, in addition to 40 reserve personnel.

What happened in previous soldier exchanges?

Israeli soldiers are the most valuable element for the Palestinians in their negotiations with Israel.

When Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in 2011 after being held by Hamas for five years, 1,027 Palestinian detainees were released in return.

The controversy resulting from that deal led to the establishment of an Israeli committee responsible for setting red lines for this type of negotiation.

At that time, Yahya Al-Sinwar was among those released before he became the leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip in 2017, and today he is the first accused from Israel of planning the October 7 attack.

Previously, 20 Palestinian detainees were released in exchange for a Hamas video proving that Shalit is alive.

In addition to the October 7 hostages, Hamas has been holding for nine years the bodies of soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed in a war between the two sides in 2014. Hamas has never confirmed their deaths.

What after the truce?

Israel constantly asserts that the war “is not over,” and that it will resume as soon as the truce ends.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged again, on Tuesday, to “liberate all the hostages,” while Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy announced that “the Israeli army is ready to resume fighting,” stressing that we will benefit from the temporary truce “to enhance our preparations.”

Hamas leader Bassem Naim told Agence France-Presse today: Hamas has “two basic goals: the first is to end this war (…), and the other is to release Palestinian prisoners in the occupation prisons, especially those with high sentences, veterans and prisoners.” The patients”.

He pointed out that achieving this would push Hamas to accept “a comprehensive agreement on the basis of all for all: all the prisoners we have in exchange for the prisoners the enemy has in its prisons and an end to the war.”

But he added, “The Palestinian resistance is never afraid of fighting again and is able to withstand.”