Six more Israeli hostages were released from the Gaza Strip, bringing the daily death toll to eight, after a last-minute agreement was reached to extend the ceasefire into a seventh day, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The two hostages released Thursday morning, 21-year-old Mia Shem and 40-year-old Amit Susana, returned to Israel on Thursday, the IDF said.
The Israeli army announced Thursday evening that six more hostages had been handed over to the Red Cross.
They included two 29-year-old women, Shani Goren and Sapir Cohen, abducted by Hamas on October 7, as well as two siblings, 18-year-old Bilal Zyadna and 16-year-old Aisha Zyadna.
“According to the Red Cross, six abducted Israelis have been handed over to them and are on their way to Israel,” the IDF wrote on social media.
In exchange, thirty more Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons.
The ceasefire agreement expires on Friday, but the US says international mediators are working “by the clock” to extend it.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a news conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday and said his first priority was to extend the ceasefire to allow the release of more hostages and more aid to the Gaza Strip.
However, he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “made it clear” at the meeting that “Israel intends to resume its military operations against Hamas.”
He warned that widespread loss of life and population displacement in the northern Gaza Strip “must not be repeated in the south” and called on Israel to take “more effective measures” to protect civilians before fighting resumes.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the army must be ready “at any time, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, any time” to quickly move to all-out combat.
During a visit to Israeli army headquarters on Thursday, he said: “Once we have exhausted the possibility of releasing the hostages, we will return to fight anywhere in the Gaza Strip.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed the release of eight hostages held in Gaza, saying in a statement: “We are pleased to announce that eight hostages held in Gaza have just been released with the help of the ICRC.”
“Our teams transported them and handed them over to the Israeli authorities. “This is possible thanks to our neutral mediation role.”
IDF spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari announced the release of the two female hostages on Thursday morning.
He added: “More Israeli hostages are expected to be handed over to the Red Cross in the coming hours.”
Ms Shem was taken hostage during the Supernova festival in southern Israel on October 7 when Hamas launched a cross-border attack.
Ms Shem, who is also a French citizen, was seen in a video released by Hamas last month saying she was wounded but receiving treatment.
Ms. Susana, a lawyer from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, was kidnapped while she was hiding in her home. Times of Israel reported.
Israel is expected to release about 30 Palestinian prisoners later on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
The truce has been extended by another day, Qatar’s mediator said on Thursday morning, just minutes before the ceasefire was due to expire.
Israel agreed to extend the ceasefire by one day for every ten hostages released.
The ceasefire was initially scheduled to expire on Tuesday morning but was extended by 48 hours to allow the release of more hostages, with hopes of a further extension.
On Wednesday, 16 hostages were released – 10 Israelis, four Thai citizens and two Russian and Israeli citizens – and Israel released thirty Palestinian prisoners.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Israel on his third visit to the Middle East since the war began, said the ceasefire was producing “results.”
“It’s important and we hope it continues,” he said.
“Over the past week we have seen very positive developments: the hostages have returned home and been reunited with their families. And it should remain so today.
“It has also allowed for increased humanitarian assistance to innocent Gazans who so desperately need it.”
He also stressed the need for Israel to immediately hold Jewish extremist settlers accountable for violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the State Department said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas presented Mr. Blinken with a “comprehensive dossier documenting Israeli occupation crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem,” the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Negotiators continue negotiations on further extending the ceasefire in order to release more hostages and deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Shortly after the ceasefire was extended on Thursday, two Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem during the morning rush hour, killing at least three people.
Both attackers were “neutralized,” Israeli police said.
Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the site of the attack and said it “once again” proved the government’s policy of arming civilians was correct.
Hamas said the gunmen were members of Hamas and that the armed wing claimed responsibility for the attack in response to “the crimes of the occupation, namely the killing of children and women in the Gaza Strip.”
Two Palestinian boys were shot dead by Israeli troops in Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. They were eight-year-old Adam Samer al-Ghul and 15-year-old Basil Suleiman Abu al-Wafa.
The Israeli army invaded the Jenin refugee camp, causing widespread destruction and killing four Palestinians, including Adam and Basil.
An unverified video circulating on social media shows Adam being hit, but the footage does not show who fired the shot.
Asked to comment on the footage, the Israeli military said: “Today, several suspects threw explosives at IDF soldiers during IDF operations in the Jenin camp. The soldiers responded to the suspects with live ammunition, and hits were recorded.”
Two Palestinians, Muhammad Jamal Zubaidi and Wissam Ziad Hanoun, were killed in the raid.
The Israeli military said Zubeidi was a senior Islamic Jihad operative who was involved in extensive combat activities.
Source: I News
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