GAZA: After a delay of several hours, 30 Palestinian detainees were freed overnight Wednesday, Israeli prison authorities said, in the final exchange under an extended ceasefire agreement due to expire within few hours. According to Arab media, talks are ongoing for an extension of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, possibly involving an extended pause in the war. However, with the current ceasefire set to expire at 05:00 GMT, no deal has yet been announced.
Earlier Arab media reported that the release was delayed because of confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the town of Beitunia, where Ofer jail is located.
Among those released was Ahed Tamimi, a 22-year-old activist who has become a main figure for Palestinian people defying the Israeli occupation. She was arrested over a social media post, which her family rejects she posted.
Israel Releases 30 Palestinians Under Ceasefire Deal
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other authorities said that sixteen captives were handed over to Israel on Wednesday, the second and last day of an extended ceasefire in the Gaza fighting between Hamas and Israel. Qatar said that ten of the released hostages were part of the current truce deal, while four Thai nationals and two Russians were freed separate from that agreement.
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According to media reports, the development comes as negotiations intensified for an extension to a ceasefire pausing war the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military also said that ten more Israeli hostages, four Thai nationals have been released in Gaza following earlier release of two Israelis.
In a statement, the Red Cross confirmed it had facilitated the release of sixteen hostages today. It added that their teams have shifted them and handed them over to the Israeli officials.
We’re glad to inform that 16 people who were being held hostage in Gaza have just been released, with facilitation from the ICRC.
Our teams have transferred them and handed them over to the Israeli authorities.
This is possible thanks to our neutral intermediary role.
— ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) November 29, 2023
Similarly, Qatar announced that ten Israelis including one American, one Dutch, and three German dual citizens as well as two Russians and four Thai nationals have been freed by Hamas in Gaza.
“10 Israeli are being freed as part of the deal, including 5 dual nationals: – A Dutch dual national, who is also a minor – 3 German dual nationals – one American dual national,” Qatar Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed Al Ansari stated, saying that two Russian nationals and four Thais were also freed. He said that 30 Palestinians had been freed from Israeli prisons in exchange.
Israeli hostages released from Gaza include 5 minors & 5 women, those of dual nationality within the group are:
– A Dutch minor
– 3 Germans
– 1 American— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) November 29, 2023
The overnight releases, which came following a sixth batch of captives were freed from the Gaza Strip, bring the number of Palestinians freed by Israel under a ceasefire deal to 210. Hamas in Gaza have freed 70 Israelis under the agreement, along with about 30 captives of other countries outside the ceasefire deal framework.
