Hamas questioned the four-day ceasefire, claiming that Israel was not adhering to the agreement, especially by preventing trucks carrying humanitarian aid from entering the northern Gaza Strip, and demanding respect for the “selection criteria” for the release of refugees. Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross. These were tense hours, during which accusations were exchanged and the mediators worked extra hard. At the end of the day, Hamas announced that it had transferred 20 people to the Red Cross, paving the way for the release of another 39 Palestinian prisoners.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that 61 humanitarian aid trucks had been sent to northern Gaza Strip, including Gaza City. It was the largest caravan to enter this part of the enclave since the start of the war, carrying food, water and emergency medical supplies. However, this group said it could not enter certain areas in the north because Israel had declared them military zones. In addition, paramedics hoped to enter northern areas during the lull in the fighting to treat the wounded and bury the dead, Palestinian Red Crescent spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh said.
Enough to cause Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, to suspend the transfer of the hostages until they received guarantees that Israel was fulfilling its task. It is not known whether he obtained this, but what is certain is that the Qatari-led mediation announced at the end of the night that a second release had taken place of thirteen Israeli hostages and four people of other nationalities (and not seven, as Hamas said). had said ).
Of the Israeli hostages, six are women and the rest are minors. Among them are two children of a hostage of Portuguese nationality, Dror Or: they are Noam Or, 17 years old, and Alma Or, 13 years old, according to the Comunidade Israelita do Porto. Their mother, Yonat, was murdered during the October 7 terrorist attacks.
The four hostages of another nationality are Thai.
Hours earlier, Iran claimed to have played a mediating role in the release of ten Thais the day before. “A list of hostage names was provided to Hamas members to analyze from a humanitarian perspective,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani said.
He explained to the state agency IRNA that Tehran was working with Qatar to free these hostages. The release of the ten Thais is not part of the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, but is said to be the result of parallel negotiations between Thailand and the Islamist group.
In addition to street demonstrations demanding a ceasefire, such as those that took place in London and Ottawa, several countries are putting pressure on Israel to delay the resumption of the war. An Egyptian official said the country had “positive indicators from all sides” in talks about extending the break for another day or two. Tel Aviv, however, says the opposite.
“We will return immediately, at the end of the ceasefire, to attack Gaza and maneuver in Gaza,” Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said. “We are going to do it to dismantle Hamas and also to put great pressure on them to return as quickly as possible with as many hostages as possible.” The Minister of Defense was also inflexible. “The deadline for the break is short. Any new negotiations will be under fire,” said Yoav Gallant.
Cravinho as Sanchez
The visit of the heads of government of Spain and Belgium to the Middle East caused a diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Tel Aviv, after Pedro Sánchez criticized the “arbitrary” killing of civilians and Benjamin Netanyahu accused the socialist of “supporting terrorism ‘. During a similar visit by the foreign ministers of Portugal and Slovenia, João Gomes Cravinho also criticized Israel’s strategy, albeit in a more diplomatic manner.
“We have not yet seen a very clear idea, a clear political plan behind the military action and it is important to remember that the military instrument is just that: it is an instrument to achieve a political goal. We currently understand the political objectives that can still justify the military instrument,” the head of Portuguese diplomacy told Lusa in Egypt, after visiting Israel, Palestine and Jordan with his counterpart Tanja Fajon. Gomes Cravinho also made a point of saying that they conveyed their views “in the same way as all these interlocutors”.
Source: DN
