Palestinian militant group Hamas on Tuesday freed 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals in exchange for the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails under the terms of the two-day truce extension deal. The released hostages included nine Israeli women and a minor in addition to two Thai nationals. The released Palestinian prisoners included 15 women and 15 minors. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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Summary
- The Israeli military confirmed on Tuesday evening that 12 more hostages had been released by Hamas.
- Israel has approved the inclusion of 50 female Palestinians in the list of prisoners slated for release if the Israeli hostages are freed, the prime minister's office said.
- CIA director William Burns on Monday met David Barnea, head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, according to sources briefed on the visit.
- Israel and Hamas on Monday agreed to a two-day extension of their four-day truce agreed last week. The extension provides for the release of 20 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 60 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
- Three French minors released by Hamas on Monday are in good health, France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Tuesday.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as Washington hopes to find a way to extend the ceasefire in Gaza and get more hostages released, the State Department said Monday.
- Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government.
- Since then, more than 14,500 people have been killed in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says.
Key developments on Monday, November 27:
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After releasing 11 Israelis from Gaza on Monday, Hamas has freed 69 of the about 240 hostages it took during an attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.
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Israel freed 30 Palestinian children and three women, Hamas-affiliated media reported, in the truce's fourth swap.
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Delegations from European Union member states and Middle Eastern and north African countries met in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss the crisis in Gaza.
For more, read yesterday's blog here.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
