2023-11-27 07:00:13
The truce between Israel and Hamas, which allowed the release of hostages, enters its fourth and final day this Monday, once morest a backdrop of talks to extend it.
Entering into force on Friday, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas begins its last day on Monday, but the two actors in the conflict hope to be able to extend it.
The agreement, orchestrated by Qatar with the support of the United States and Egypt, and implemented since Friday, included a four-day ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the release of 50 hostagesamong more than 200 still detained in Gaza, as well as 150 Palestinian detainees in Israel.
©via REUTERS
In the occupied West Bank, buses from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) drove to Ramallah and Beitunia, prisoners releasedgreeted by crowds waving flags of Palestinian, Hamas and other factions.
©AFP
An extension of “two to four days”
Other releases of hostages and prisoners might soon follow. During the night from Sunday to Monday, the Palestinian armed Islamist movement announced its intention to “extend the ceasefire beyond its initial four days”, with the aim of “increasing the number of prisoners released” in accordance with the established agreement. A source close to Hamas told AFP that the Palestinian group “informs the mediators” of its agreement for an extension of “two to four days”.
“We will, following the agreement, return to our objective: to eliminate Hamas and ensure that the Gaza Strip is no longer what it was.”
A provision of the agreement thus allows its renewal to release daily around ten hostages in the hands of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of around thirty prisoners Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday evening with Joe Biden on this subject, considering such an extension of the ceasefire as “Welcome”.
“There are provisions for the release of ten more hostages every day and that is a blessing. But I also told the (American) president that we will, following the agreement, return to our objective: eliminate Hamas and ensure that the Gaza Strip is no longer what it was“, however, added the Israeli leader.
Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to ask the government this Monday for a “war” budget of 30 billion shekels (7.3 billion euros), called for “victory” on Sunday during the first trip by an Israeli government representative to Gaza since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from this Palestinian territory in 2005.
Update on the humanitarian situation in Gaza
Although the truce has brought temporary relief to Gaza, the humanitarian situation there remains critical and needs are unprecedented, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Since Friday, 248 aid trucks managed to enter the Gaza Stripbut UNRWA emphasizes that 200 trucks per day would be needed for at least two months to meet urgent needs, as there is a lack of drinking water and food in certain areas.
©via REUTERS
The Israeli army declared the northern third of Gaza a war zone and banned the return of residents during the truce, but despite this, thousands of displaced people tried to return home. Gaza City is heavily damaged, with more than half of the territory’s housing affected by the war, leaving 1.7 million people displaced out of a total population of 2.4 million. Hospitals in the south are overwhelmed with wounded evacuated from the north, where most health establishments are no longer functioning.
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