The weapons are still silent. But incidents such as an attack in Jerusalem could put them at risk. Negotiations for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip are also becoming increasingly difficult.
The ceasefire in the Gaza war continues – and could possibly be extended further. Israel and the Islamist Hamas agreed on Thursday shortly before the deadline to extend the ceasefire by one day until Friday morning. This was intended to release more hostages from the Gaza Strip. According to the military, the first two, two Israeli women, were handed over to the Red Cross in the afternoon. In return, Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons. Mediators Egypt and Qatar tried to extend the ceasefire again.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it received a list with the names of other abducted women and children who should be released. According to media reports, up to eight more hostages were to be released on Thursday. It was also said that negotiations were underway to hand over three bodies.
According to the military, two hostages in the Gaza Strip were initially handed over to the Red Cross on Thursday. The armed forces said they were two Israeli women. They have arrived in Israel. “More Israeli hostages will be handed over to the Red Cross in the next few hours,” it said. It was initially unclear how many more hostages would be released that evening.
The Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) said “there are ongoing Egyptian-Qatari contacts to extend the ceasefire for another two days.” This would allow more prisoners and hostages to be released and more humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip. During his visit to Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with President Izchak Herzog about efforts to release the remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip and humanitarian aid for the civilian population.
According to the Times of Israel, Israel suspects that there are still around 145 hostages in the Gaza Strip. However, there are said to be only 15 women and children among them. It was therefore questionable how long the current procedure, in which women and children were released in return for an extension of the ceasefire, could continue.
Palestinian attackers kill three people in Jerusalem
Meanwhile, two Palestinian assassins opened fire on people waiting at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Thursday. Three people were killed, said a spokesman for the Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom. Other people were injured, some seriously. According to police, the attackers were shot dead by soldiers and an armed civilian. The Islamist Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Israel’s right-wing extremist Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir then called for an end to the ceasefire. “With one hand Hamas signs a ceasefire, and with another hand it sends terrorists to murder Jews in Jerusalem,” the minister wrote on the X platform, formerly Twitter. “We must end the deals with the devil and immediately return to the fight with great force to achieve the ultimate goal of the war: the complete destruction of Hamas (…).”
99 hostages released since ceasefire began
Since the ceasefire began last Friday, 99 hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have been released. In return, Israel released 210 Palestinian prisoners from prison. The released hostages include 75 Israelis – including 14 with German citizenship – and 24 foreigners. “If Hamas stops releasing mothers and children, we will resume military pressure to get EVERYONE out of the country – we will not abandon our fathers, brothers and sons to the Hamas monsters,” Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy wrote on Thursday on X
The Gaza War was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which terrorists from the Gaza Strip committed in Israel near the border on October 7th. More than 1,200 people were killed. Around 240 hostages were taken to Gaza, including several Germans. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a blockade of the Gaza Strip. In late October his forces began a ground offensive. According to Hamas, almost 15,000 people were killed and more than 36,000 injured. The numbers cannot currently be independently verified.
Blinken calls on Israel to take action against violent settlers
US Secretary of State Blinken called on Israel to hold violent settlers in the West Bank accountable. At a meeting with Israeli President Herzog, Blinken made it clear that “tensions in the West Bank” needed to be de-escalated, the US State Department said. To do this, “Israel must take immediate steps to hold settler extremists accountable for violence against Palestinian civilians,” it said. At a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Blinken emphasized that “it is imperative to address the humanitarian and civilian protection needs in the southern Gaza Strip before conducting military operations there,” according to the US State Department. He emphasized that the US remains committed to “concrete steps to promote a Palestinian state.”
Baerbock: Building a bridge for the political process from the ceasefire
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed the extension of the ceasefire in the Gaza war as “extremely important” and called for a political solution to the conflict. “It is clear that we have to build a bridge from the ceasefire to a political process,” said the Green politician on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the North Macedonian capital Skopje. Israel can only live in security if the Palestinians live in security – “in the same way, Palestinians can only live in security if Israel is secure,” said Baerbock.
Since the ceasefire, over 1,000 trucks carrying aid have arrived in the Gaza Strip
Since the ceasefire in the Gaza war began, over 1,000 trucks carrying aid supplies have arrived in the sealed-off coastal strip. The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Thursday that 1,132 trucks carrying relief supplies had crossed the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip by Wednesday. It was not specified what goods were involved.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
