On Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Israel’s readiness to “extend the truce in Gaza,” holding Hamas, classified as a terrorist movement in the United States and other countries, responsible for the safety of all those kidnapped in the Strip, after talking about “the presence of some of them with civilians and other factions.”
In statements to Al-Hurra website on Monday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat said that his country “hopes for an extension of the truce and the return of the kidnapped persons to Israel, especially women and children,” knowing that it is the fourth and final day of the truce that began on Friday.
He pointed out that Hamas is “a terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip and is responsible for the safety of all abductees,” in response to a question about the fate of abductees held by other parties.
Israel “is not in direct negotiations with Hamas,” but the Israeli goal now is “to free every one of the kidnapped,” according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman.
In statements to the newspaper,Financial Times“British, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said that Hamas needs to locate dozens of hostages, including women and children, being held by “civilians and factions in the Gaza Strip to extend the temporary ceasefire.”
He pointed out that there are more than 40 women and children kidnapped in Gaza “who are not in the hands of Hamas.”
The Qatari Prime Minister said: “If Hamas gets more women and children, there will be an extension,” but added that it is unclear how the movement can determine their locations.
He explained that one of the goals of the truce is for “Hamas to have enough time to search for the rest of the kidnapped people.”
In a statement on Sunday night, Hamas said that it seeks to “extend the truce after the end of the four-day period” with the aim of “increasing the number of released prisoners,” as stated in the truce agreement.
On Sunday, a source close to Hamas confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the movement “informed the mediators that the resistance factions agreed to extend the current truce for between two and four days.”
On Monday, the truce between Israel and Hamas, which allowed for the release of hostages and prisoners and the entry of emergency aid into the Gaza Strip, entered its fourth and final day, amid ongoing talks to extend it.
The agreement was brokered by Qatar, with the participation of the United States and Egypt, and entered into force on Friday. It stipulated a four-day truce during which fifty Hamas hostages would be released in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Since Friday, 39 hostages have been released under the agreement, in addition to 24 hostages from outside the agreement, most of whom are Thais working in Israel, as well as 117 Palestinian prisoners.
The truce can be extended on the condition that Hamas releases ten additional hostages every day, in exchange for the release of more Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
More hostages could be released at a rate of ten every day, while Israel releases three Palestinian prisoners for every hostage.
The war broke out between Israel and Hamas after a surprise attack launched by the movement on military sites and residential areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip, which led to the killing of 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, and 239 people were kidnapped, according to the Israeli authorities.
Israel responded with intense air, sea, and ground bombardment on the besieged Gaza Strip, followed by a ground operation, which stopped with the start of the truce on Friday. The death toll in Gaza reached 14,854 people, including 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women, in addition to the injury of about 36,000 people, while the number of deaths reached 14,854. The missing: Nearly 7,000 are missing, according to Hamas authorities.
More than half of the housing stock in Gaza was damaged or destroyed due to the war, according to the United Nations, while 1.7 million out of a population of 2.4 million were displaced.
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2023-11-27 09:05:37
