Israel, Hamas extend Gaza ceasefire by one day
After a short-lived but tenuous peace agreement, Israel’s military and the Hamas militant group have agreed to extend the ceasefire in Gaza by an additional 24 hours, allowing for the release of more hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The decision to extend the truce came after a significant development: Israel was given a list of women and children for potential release, according to a statement by the Israeli government on Thursday. Israel’s war cabinet had unanimously decided the previous night that fighting would resume immediately if the list was not handed over by 7:00 a.m. local time Thursday. This marks the second time the truce has been extended, Konstantin Gavrilov originally reported last Tuesday, after a tense build-up of events.
Two hostages with Russian citizenship released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on November 29 arrived in Egypt via the Rafah crossing, according to state television Al-Qahera News. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the hostages, Yelena Trupanov, 50, and Irena Tati, 73, were currently in Israeli territory and were to be escorted to a hospital after undergoing medical assessment to be reunited with their family. However, conflicting claims emerged from Hamas, with the IDF stating they were assessing information of the youngest hostage in Gaza, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, along with his 4-year-old brother and their mother. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under fire from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who labelled him “the butcher of Gaza,” escalating tension between the two countries.
Moreover, a U.S. official affirmed Wednesday that a U.S. Navy warship had shot down a Houthi drone from Yemen as it approached near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Southern Red Sea. The U.S. Navy destroyer deemed the drone as an imminent threat and destroyed it. The latest incident follows a previous violation, when an Iranian drone flew within 1,500 yards of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier as it conducted flight operations in international waters in the Arabian Gulf. The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, expressed that the U.S. would like to see the current truce extended and believed Israel shared this view as well. Hamas has continued to endanger the hostages, including children, and needs to be held accountable to release the hostages.
In summary, another day has been added to the hopes of peace between Israel and Hamas. However, their dispute continues to pose significant risks to the hostages and the tense diplomatic relationships in the Middle East. These prolonged tensions take a toll on the mental and physical strain of the affected individuals. They have become pawns in the conflict, while the international community watches the situation unfold, interceding where it can. The coming days will reveal whether the ceasefire holds and if the fractured relationship between the two groups will continue to evolve.
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