Hamas frees 12 Gaza hostages, Israel releases 30 Palestinians amid efforts to extend truce
- Israel received a list of hostages expected to be released by Hamas Wednesday, following latest exchange
- Qatar hosts meeting of Israel’s Mossad and CIA to discuss possible parameters of a new phase of truce deal
Hamas and Israel were expected to release more hostages and prisoners on Wednesday, the last day of a prolonged six-day truce in the Gaza Strip conflict, as attention focused on whether mediator Qatar could negotiate another extension.
Israeli media, citing the prime minister’s office, reported that Israel received a list of hostages expected to be released by Hamas on Wednesday. The prime minister’s office had no immediate comment.
Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. But with fewer women and children still in captivity, keeping the guns quiet beyond Wednesday may require negotiating to free at least some Israeli men for the first time.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas and allied group Islamic Jihad freed 12 hostages on Tuesday, bringing the total released since the truce began on Friday to 81. Those have been mostly Israeli women and children along with foreign citizens.
The hostages – 10 Israeli women and two Thai citizens – were aged 17 to 84 and included a mother-daughter pair. All were given initial medical checks then moved to Israeli hospitals where they were to meet their families.