The ceasefire in the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas is extended. The Israeli army announced this on Thursday morning, just before the deadline. According to the emirate of Qatar, which is mediating in the conflict, the extension initially only applies to Thursday. Hamas has also stated this. It was agreed to extend the humanitarian ceasefire for one day “under existing conditions,” Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said. All military activities must stop and the import of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip must continue to be allowed.
“Given the efforts of the mediators to continue the hostage rescue process and depending on the terms of the agreement, the operational pause will continue,” the Israeli military said. Israeli government security adviser Mark Regev told CNN that if Hamas releases 10 Israeli hostages, the ceasefire will be extended by one day. Israel insists they are living hostages. The question is whether Hamas will actually meet this demand. Israel believes there are still 140 hostages in the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire has been in effect since 6 a.m. CET last Friday. Since then, the Islamist Hamas has exchanged about a hundred hostages kidnapped to the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. Fourteen Germans were also among the released hostages. The break in fighting was recently extended by two days. According to the original agreement, the break should be able to be extended to a maximum of ten days.
The terrorist organization released another sixteen hostages on Wednesday. As in previous days, there were ten Israelis, the Israeli army announced on Wednesday. In return, Israel released another group of thirty Palestinians from Israeli prisons, as Israeli prison authorities announced on Thursday evening.
According to UN Secretary General António Guterres, a further extension of the ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza war is not enough. He calls for a “genuine humanitarian ceasefire.” On the
US President Joe Biden thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi “for their continued partnership in this process and their continued commitment to bringing all hostages home .” To provide more assistance to the innocent people of Gaza,” the statement said.
The US remains “committed to securing the release of all those taken hostage by Hamas during the brutal terrorist attack on Israel on October 7,” the US president said in the statement. Biden did not elaborate in the statement on a possible extension of the ceasefire. His Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier vowed to do “everything in our power to extend the pause.” According to his own statements, he will be back in Israel this Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced in a statement that fighting would resume when “this phase of the return of our hostages is completed.” Army spokesman Spielman also said that if the current deadline passes, they are ready to continue the military operation to completely destroy Hamas.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank there were clashes between soldiers and people waiting for the Palestinians to return, the Red Crescent said. There would have been injuries. Several Palestinians had previously been killed during an Israeli counter-terrorism operation in the occupied West Bank.
The previous ceasefire had improved aid delivery to the Gaza Strip, UN Secretary General Guterres said. But the amount of aid is still insufficient to meet the enormous needs of more than two million people, Guterres writes further
US Secretary of State Blinken is again expected for talks in Israel. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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