10 Israeli Hostages, 30 Palestinian Prisoners to be Freed

Palestinian Territories: A new group of Israeli hostages were set to be freed Tuesday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as Israel and Hamas embarked on a two-day extension of a truce that has paused the devastating Gaza war. The temporary cessation of hostilities and releases of captives were hailed as a glimpse of hope after seven weeks of conflict sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. A source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas told AFP that 10 hostages held in Gaza would be freed in return for 30 prisoners released from Israeli prisons on Tuesday in the first exchanges under the truce extension. “Lists of the 10 Israeli hostages and 30 Palestinian prisoners for the fifth day of the truce were exchanged without objections,” the source told AFP. In addition to those releases, “some foreign workers held in Gaza” will also be freed, the source said. The 7:00 am (0500 GMT) deadline for the first phase of the ceasefire to expire passed without major incidents after 11 more Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza and 33 Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel overnight. But an AFP journalist saw an Israeli tank fire three times in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City as Palestinians attempted to make use of the lull to return to their homes. The Israeli military described the shelling as “warning shots”, saying its tank fired as suspected militants approached army positions. At least one person was hurt, the AFP reporter saw. Hamas and UN officials have reported that Israeli fire has killed at least one person since the truce began on November 24.The truce paused fighting that began on October 7 when Hamas poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping dozens. Israel’s retaliatory ground and air operation in the Gaza Strip has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s Hamas government. AFPTV images show buildings several storeys high flattened by the Israeli bombardments in the central Gaza Strip and residents walking through the rubble of ruined homes. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the ceasefire extension as “a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war”. Israel has vowed to stick to its war aim of destroying Hamas and rescuing all 240 hostages.

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