• It is the 51st day of the war: more than 14,800 Palestinians have been killed, including 5,600 children, according to Hamas. In Israel, 1,200 people were killed in the attack that occurred on October 7.
• The release of the second group of hostages was delayed: in the evening, 13 Israelis and 7 foreigners were released, compared to 39 Palestinians.
• Words and abbreviations for understanding conflict: Here is the glossary.
• The history of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, explained here.
07.50 am – “Hamas violated the agreement and released a little girl without her mother.”
A little girl was released without her mother. Thus, Hamas violated the terms of the agreement reached with Israel to release 50 Israeli hostages in four days in exchange for a truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners in a ratio of one to three. The Israeli authorities reported this, in reference to Hamas releasing the 13-year-old girl, Hila Rotem, without her mother, Raya, who is still in the hands of the kidnappers. Her uncle received the little girl in the past few hours. “Hela returns home without her mother Raya, who is still imprisoned. Hamas has seriously violated the agreement and separated the mother and daughter,” said a memorandum from the Israeli authorities republished by the Walla news site.
07.50 am – Israel receives the third list of names of hostages who will be released
Israel received the third list of hostages scheduled to be released today. An informed official told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity. The Prime Minister’s Office says Israel has informed families whose loved ones are on the list handed over by Qatar, which mediated between Israel and Hamas. This will be the third day of a four-day truce. Qatar expressed its hope that the truce would be extended further with the release of more abductees.
07.44 am – Hamas releases 4 more Thai hostages
Hamas activists released four more Thai hostages kidnapped in southern Israel on October 7. They are Natthavon Onkayo, Kumkret Chombwa, Anusha Angkayo and Mani Gerashat. The Israeli authorities transferred the four foreign hostages to the Shamir Medical Center to receive medical and psychological treatment. Thai Prime Minister Sritha Thavisin said that the four are in good health. The Tehran embassy in Bangkok said that it contributed to the release of the Thai citizens by handing over a list to Hamas. The list was agreed upon with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Speaker of the Thai Parliament.
02.25 am – Israel receives the list of hostages who will be released today
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office received a new list of hostages expected to be released today by Hamas. The media reported this, explaining that the government had already taken measures to inform the families of the people who would be released today.
02.08 AM – Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: The United Nations arrives 200 aid trucks to the Gaza Strip
61 trucks carrying medical supplies, food and water delivered their cargo to northern Gaza, where a lull in fighting allowed aid to enter the besieged coastal area. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that another 200 trucks were sent to the Gaza Strip from Nitzana, Israel, and 187 of them crossed the border. The statement said that 11 ambulances, three buses and a flat bed were delivered to Al-Shifa Hospital, which has witnessed heavy fighting in recent days, “to assist in evacuations.” He added: “The longer the truce lasts, the more aid agencies will be able to send more aid to and through Gaza,” thanking the Palestinian and Egyptian Red Crescent Societies. The previous day, when a temporary truce began between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the exchange of hostages and prisoners, 137 trucks delivered aid to Gaza, according to the United Nations. “We welcome the release of more hostages today and renew our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. We hope that the release of more Palestinian detainees will bring relief to their families and loved ones,” Ocha said.
01.49 am – Asharq Al-Awsat: 39 freed Palestinian prisoners return to their homes
The Israeli Prisons Authority announced yesterday that it had released 39 Palestinian prisoners, after the Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, released 20 hostages under an agreement that entered into force on Friday. The agreement is expected to last four days and allow the release of 50 Hamas hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners. In East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and annexed, a secret celebration was held for the liberated prisoners, all of whom were women and youth under the age of 19, in the presence of the Israeli police. Members of the Israeli security forces wearing boots, helmets and weapons were especially numerous in the home of Israa Jaabis, 39, the most famous prisoner on the list. His image, waving his withered fingers and his partially burned face in an Israeli court, is regularly used in demonstrations or to illustrate the suffering of Palestinian prisoners.
He told reporters in the family living room in the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood where he lives, with his 13-year-old son Moatasem: “I am ashamed to talk about joy when all of Palestine is suffering.” He called for everyone’s release. Ms. Jaabis was sentenced to 11 years in prison for detonating a gas cylinder she was carrying in the trunk of her car at a checkpoint in 2015, wounding a policeman. The non-governmental organization Addameer, which provided her with a lawyer, reported that she suffered burns exceeding 50% of her body. According to the Palestinian authorities, he now needs six surgeries.
In the rest of the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, there was joy and above all slogans praising Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel. It was this Islamic movement, the arch-rival of Fatah led by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, and whose authority extends only to some areas of the West Bank, that negotiated a hostage exchange agreement with Israel. “Izz al-Din! Izz al-Din!” the crowd chanted, referring to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. By Friday evening, hundreds of Palestinians had chanted “We are your men, Deif” or “We want the Sinwar,” referring to Muhammad Deif, the elusive commander. of the military wing of Hamas, and Yahya Sinwar, the movement’s leader in Gaza.With the departure of the first group of 39 prisoners, the Prisoners’ Club, a Palestinian NGO that advocates for prisoners, reported that 17 Palestinians had been arrested on the same day.
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