Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas Resistance Movement, handed over late Tuesday six Zionist captives to the Red Cross, while enemy authorities released 34 Palestinian prisoners, including 7 women and 27 children, from Ofer jail.
Accordingly, the seventh stage of the civilian hostage swap deal has been completed, which paves the way for the negotiators to reach a further truce extension.
Meanwhile, talks among the various parties continued to reach an agreement to extend the ongoing truce in Gaza.
In this context, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had arrived in Tel Aviv early Thursday, demanded a new truce extension for one day or even more.
Blinken attended a security cabinet session in the Zionist entity, telling the senior Israeli officials that they do not have a long time to end the war on Gaza.
Blinken said that the war is raising the international pressures on Washington and Tel Aviv, highlighting the importance of avoiding targeting the civilians in Gaza during any more attacks.
Hamas had confirmed the extension of the truce in the war-stricken Gaza Strip with ‘Israel’. The truce, originally set to expire at 7:00 am Thursday, has now been extended for a seventh day, as per a mutual agreement between the two parties, Hamas declared.
Adding to the development, Israeli occupation forces also confirmed that the truce, which was approaching its expiration, would indeed continue. Their statement mentioned that the extension aims to facilitate the ongoing efforts to secure the release of prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
Reports from Israeli media revealed that Hamas had provided a new list of captives set to be released. As a result, the temporary truce will be prolonged for an additional day to allow for the release of six Israeli women, two children, and the remains of three individuals who were held captive, according to Israeli media sources.
The news of the extended truce was further reinforced by the Qatari Foreign Ministry, who announced the continuation of the truce in the Gaza Strip for an extra day. The ministry’s spokesperson, Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari, stated that both Israeli and Palestinian sides had reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian truce, emphasizing the vital role of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States in facilitating the ongoing negotiations.
This extension of the ceasefire brings forth expectations that both ‘Israel’ and the Palestinian Resistance may consider further short-term renewals. As the duration of the ceasefire prolongs, external pressure on ‘Israel’ to solidify it permanently grows, while internal pressures call for its conclusion.
Palestinian Resistance Releases 12 More Captives
As part of the exchange deal, the Palestinian resistance handed over 12 of its Captives, 10 Israelis and two with Russian citizenship. Al-Qassam Brigades published part of the handover of two Russian female captives in response to the request of the Russian leadership.
#BREAKING| Media coverage: “Sharing jokes and goodbyes… Al Qassam Brigades has released a new video of the 6th batch of the Israeli detainees in #Gaza.” pic.twitter.com/cVzTHoEp3h
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 29, 2023
New List of Palestinian Prisoners Released
In a separate development, 30 Palestinian women and children were liberated from Israeli prisons on Thursday at dawn, marking the sixth batch of prisoners released as part of an agreed-upon exchange between the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza and the Israeli occupation.
First scenes of Palestinian women and children released within the 6th batch of the prisoners swap deal between the Palestinian resistance and the occupation state of Israel. pic.twitter.com/XNDXyjEv8x
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 30, 2023
The freed prisoners were greeted with jubilation by their fellow Palestinians in Ramallah, who raised flags of Hamas and Al-Qassam, honoring the brigades and the Resistance. On the other side, the Palestinian Resistance handed over a group of Israeli captives, an event that was showcased in a video released by the Al-Qassam Brigades.
The moment Maryam Salhab reunited with her family after being released today from an Israeli jail.
Maryam, a college student, was kidnapped last month from Hebron without any charge or trial within a massive Israeli daily arrest campaign in the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/GIoSBFvdef
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 30, 2023
With the extension of the truce, hopes for lasting peace between Gaza and ‘Israel’ are rekindled, even as the people on both sides anxiously await further updates on the negotiations.
Palestinian prisoner Ramzi Abbasi reunites with his little daughter Kanz after 7 months of imprisonment behind Israeli bars. pic.twitter.com/kivTuEGVfy
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) November 29, 2023
Source: Palestinian and Israeli media (translated by Al-Manar English Website)
