The dirt streets of the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, many destroyed by the passage of military bulldozers, last night showed the effects of incursions by Israeli troops since the Gaza war began on October 7 after of the terrorist attack by Hamas. The last incursion took place during Saturday night and Sunday morning: the soldiers killed seven people, including two minors. The residents of the camp explain that only one of the dead was a combatant, a member of the Jenín Brigades.
The war in Gaza is on pause, but in the West Bank, the low-intensity war continues. Since October 7, nearly two hundred Palestinians have died in these occupied territories, a large number of them in Jenin, in direct actions by the army, in armed clashes or killed by Israeli settlers.
In the Gaza Strip, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited yesterday, the truce enters its fourth and final day today, despite all indications that it could be extended for another four days. Official sources from Qatar, Egypt and the US spoke off the record, before Hamas issued a brief statement via Telegram in which it stated that it “is trying to extend the truce after the four-day period and is seriously trying to increase the number of released detainees, as established in the humanitarian truce agreement”.
When only the last agreed exchange of hostages needs to be fulfilled today, yesterday, the third day of the ceasefire developed according to what was foreseen and without the suspense of Saturday, including the entry into the strip of 200 more trucks with humanitarian aid.
In exchange for Israel releasing 39 more Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank, another 17 abductees were released through the usual procedure: fighters from the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, delivered the abductees to an unspecified location in the strip to Red Cross personnel, who took them to the Rafah crossing, where they boarded a coach that, through Egypt, took them to Israeli territory, through the Kerem Shalom crossing or by helicopter to nearby hospitals in Tel-Aviv to be able to meet with the families.
Of the 17 released yesterday, 14 are Israelis and three Thais. Among the Israelis, nine are minors, including 4-year-old Avigail Idan, whose parents were killed during the terrorist attack. The first adult Israeli abductee of the male sex – the agreement included only women and minors -, Roni Krivoi, who also has Russian nationality, was also freed. In a statement, Hamas claimed it was freed as a “response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin” and to thank him for his stance on the war.
Another of the freed hostages is Elma Avraham, an 84-year-old woman, who was taken by helicopter without delay to an Israeli hospital due to her delicate health condition.
In this way, Hamas had released 58 hostages until yesterday, 40 of Israeli nationality, 17 Thais and one Filipino, so it is estimated that the Islamist organization – together with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (GIP) – would still hold captive 182 people If the agreement with Israel, which established the release of 50 Israeli citizens in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners, is strictly followed today, Hamas would only have to release ten hostages.
Although it was not yet known last night how many people would be released today, the number could be more than ten, taking into account the actions of Hamas towards the Russian citizen and the Thai workers and the Filipino, who did not were in agreement with Israel, but Thailand negotiated directly with Hamas. It is estimated that Hamas and the GIP kidnapped 25 non-Israeli laborers, leaving seven still in captivity.
All that said, yesterday’s most unexpected image was that of Netanyahu while he was visiting Israel’s troops in Gaza. The prime minister made a surprise move to an undisclosed location in the Strip, where he visited some of the tunnels used by Hamas. His press office released a video showing Netanyahu saluting soldiers, dressed in a bulletproof vest and military helmet.
“We will continue until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us and we are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will and the determination to achieve the goals of the war,” said the right-wing leader in Gaza. “We have three goals in this war: eliminate Hamas, return all our abductees and ensure that Gaza does not become a threat to Israel again,” added Netanyahu, who was a military man before becoming a politician.
