Israel and Hamas are preparing for a third day of releasing Gaza hostages, after a last-minute dispute on Saturday threatened to derail a fragile truce.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that it had received a list of names of hostages that Hamas will hand over throughout the day. Since Friday, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza has freed 26 Israelis, some with dual nationality, as well as 14 Thai citizens and one Filipino citizen.
The multi-stage releases are key to a deal brokered by Qatar and Egypt that has brought a four-day pause in fighting in the more than six-week war and allowed more humanitarian aid to flow into besieged Gaza. As part of the pact, Israel has so far released 78 Palestinian women and children detained in its prisons.
Saturday’s releases came hours later than expected, after Hamas said Israel had violated the terms of the truce, charges it denied.
Israel has unleashed its military power in the small, overcrowded Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack where militants infiltrated Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped about 240 more.
Separately, at least 15,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The four-day truce depends on Hamas releasing a total of 50 hostages and Israel releasing 150 women and minors held in the country’s prisons.
The humanitarian pause in Gaza has been “largely maintained” since it came into effect on Friday, allowing the United Nations to boost the delivery of crucial aid to and through Gaza, the UN Office for Coordination said. of Humanitarian Affairs in an update.
Still, the agency said many people still have no food – or fuel for cooking – and bakeries are not operating, raising concerns about nutrition, especially in northern Gaza, the focus of Israel’s ground offensive. . He also reported that Israeli forces had arrested some Palestinians traveling along the Israeli-designated safe “corridor” from the north to the south of the territory.
The Israeli defense forces warned this Sunday that civilians in Gaza are prohibited from entering the sea or coming within 1 kilometer of the border with Israel.
The Defense Ministry has said that Israel’s military seized about 5 million shekels ($1.3 million) from Hamas during the ground invasion. Iraqi, Jordanian and American coins have been found mainly in Hamas strongholds and in the homes of suspects.
Seven Palestinians were killed in a missile attack launched by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the Voice of Palestine radio station reported. The Israeli military has not commented on the events.
US President Joe Biden spoke with Qatari leaders on Saturday “about potential delays in the deal and mechanisms to resolve them,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
Biden, who said the first day of hostage release had “gone well,” was kept informed of developments on Saturday and, after his call with Qatari leaders, senior US officials were in “regular contact with the Israelis, Qataris and Egyptians to overcome the situation.” obstacles,” Watson said.
Lolwah Al-Khater, Minister of International Cooperation of Qatar, visited Gaza this Sunday through the Rafah crossing, a rare visit by an Arab official since the start of hostilities in October.
