ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: The White House has said that US officials see no signs that Hamas are refusing to free American captives in the Gaza Strip in order to use them as leverage, Western media reported on Tuesday. According to Reuters, the US believes Hamas is holding 8 to 9 US citizens as captives after the release of a four-year-old girl.
Earlier, Israel’s prison officials said that 30 Palestinians have been freed on the fifth day of the ceasefire pausing fighting in the Gaza Strip. The development came following ten Israeli captives returned to Israel under the terms of the agreement following their release by Hamas.
No Evidence Hamas is Using American Captives as Leverage: US
The spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed that the captives are 10 Israelis as well as 2 Thai citizens. It said that 3 of the Israelis are dual nationals – two from Argentina and one from the Philippines.
Arab media reported that the government media office in the Gaza Strip says that the death toll has increased to more than 15,000 since Oct 7. This includes 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, the office maintains.
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Similarly, ICRC stated it has ‘successfully’ transferred 12 hostages from the Gaza Strip. In a statement via social media, the ICRC said that they have been able to conduct this operation thanks to their neutral intermediary role.
