© Reuters. Hostages who had been kidnapped by Hamas gunmen throughout the October 7 assault on Israel, wave as they’re handed over by Hamas militants to members of the Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross, as a part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israe
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By James Mackenzie
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Hamas mentioned on Sunday it had handed over 13 Israeli hostages, three Thai nationals and an individual with Russian citizenship who had been held within the Gaza Strip to the Crimson Cross on the third day of a truce between Israel and the militant group.
The discharge of among the hostages captured when Hamas fighters rampaged by southern Israel on Oct. 7 is predicted to be mirrored by the Israelis liberating one other group of 39 Palestinian prisoners as on earlier days within the truce.
The four-day truce is the primary halt in combating within the seven weeks since Hamas killed 1,200 folks and took about 240 hostages again into Gaza.
In response to that assault, Israel has vowed to destroy the Hamas militants who run Gaza, bombarding the enclave and mounting a floor offensive within the north. Some 14,800 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza well being authorities say, and a whole lot of 1000’s displaced.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday met safety forces contained in the Gaza Strip and indicated that the marketing campaign was removed from over.
“Nothing will cease us, and we’re satisfied that now we have the energy, the facility, the desire and the dedication to attain all of the objectives of the struggle, and that’s what we are going to do,” he mentioned.
Netanyahu is predicted to talk to U.S. President Joe Biden afterward Sunday.
FARMER KILLED
The killing of a Palestinian farmer within the central Gaza Strip had earlier added to considerations over the fragility of the truce.
The farmer was killed when focused by Israeli forces east of Gaza’s long-established Maghazi refugee camp, the Palestinian Crimson Crescent mentioned.
On a extra constructive observe, White Home Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned there was “motive to consider” a U.S. hostage could be launched from captivity in Gaza on Sunday. Sullivan declined to present the hostage’s identification.
13 Israelis and 4 Thai nationals arrived in Israel early on Sunday after a second launch of hostages held by Hamas following an preliminary delay attributable to a dispute about assist supply into Gaza.
Egypt and Qatar acted as mediators on Saturday to keep up the truce.
The armed wing of Hamas additionally mentioned on Sunday that 4 of its navy commanders within the Gaza Strip had been killed, together with the commander of the North Gaza brigade, Ahmad Al Ghandour. It didn’t say once they had been killed.
Qatar, Egypt and the USA are urgent for the truce to be prolonged past Monday however it isn’t clear whether or not that may occur.
Israel had mentioned the ceasefire may very well be prolonged if Hamas continued to launch at the least 10 hostages a day. A Palestinian supply had mentioned as much as 100 hostages might go free.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
Six of the group of 13 Israelis launched on Saturday had been girls and 7 had been youngsters or youngsters. The youngest was three-year-old Yahel Shoham, freed together with her mom and brother, though her father stays a hostage.
Israel freed 39 Palestinians – six girls and 33 youngsters – from two prisons, the Palestinian information company WAFA mentioned.
Among the Palestinians arrived at Al-Bireh Municipality Sq. in Ramallah within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution, the place 1000’s of residents awaited them, a Reuters journalist mentioned.
Violence flared within the West Financial institution the place Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians, together with two minors and at the least one gunman, late on Saturday and early Sunday, medics and native sources mentioned.
Even earlier than the Oct. 7 assaults from Gaza, the West Financial institution had been in a state of unrest, with an increase in Israeli military raids, Palestinian assaults, and violence by Israeli settlers prior to now 18 months. Greater than 200 Palestinians have been killed within the West Financial institution since Oct. 7, some in Israeli air strikes.
Saturday’s swap follows the day gone by’s preliminary launch of 13 Israeli hostages, together with youngsters and the aged, by Hamas in return for the discharge of 39 Palestinian girls and youngsters from Israeli prisons.
The 4 Thais freed on Saturday “need a bathe and to contact their family members”, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin mentioned on social media platform X. All had been protected and confirmed few ill-effects, he mentioned.
“I’m so joyful, I’m so glad, I can’t describe my feeling in any respect,” Thongkoon Onkaew instructed Reuters by phone after information of the discharge of her son Natthaporn, 26, the household’s sole breadwinner.
DAYS OF CALM
The deal risked being derailed when Hamas’ armed wing mentioned on Saturday it was delaying releases till Israel met all truce situations, together with committing to let assist vans into northern Gaza.
Saving the deal took a day of diplomacy mediated by Qatar and Egypt, which President Biden additionally joined.
Al-Qassam Brigades additionally mentioned Israel had did not respect phrases for the discharge of Palestinian prisoners that factored of their time in detention.
COGAT, the Israeli company for civilian coordination with the Palestinians, accused Hamas itself of delaying vans making an attempt to ship humanitarian assist to northern Gaza at a checkpoint.
“To Hamas, residents of Gaza are their final precedence,” it mentioned on Sunday.
Saturday additionally introduced hours of ready for the households of hostages, a few of whose pleasure was tempered by the continued captivity of others.
“My coronary heart is cut up as a result of my son, Itay, remains to be in Hamas’ captivity in Gaza,” Mirit Regev, the mom of Maya Regev, who was launched late on Saturday, mentioned in an announcement from the Hostage and Lacking Households Discussion board.
The truce allowed some respite for Gazans reminiscent of Ibrahim Kaninch, who sat by a small bonfire outdoors his partially destroyed home, feeding the flames with bits of cardboard as he heated up water for tea.
“We’re dwelling days of calm, the place we’re stealing moments to make tea,” he mentioned, his face lit by the glow of the fireplace in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.