The Israeli prime minister's office has already received the list of hostages expected to be released today by Hamas. In short, the truce seems to be holding, with the agreements being respected.

Last night Israel, for its part, announced the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners.

In those same hours there was fear that everything would go up in smoke but thanks to the mediation of Qatar and Egypt the situation was resolved.

Thirteen Israelis were freed and handed over to the Red Cross along with four Thai citizens after hours of uncertainty and anguish for waiting relatives. Immediately after crossing the Rafah crossing and entering Egypt where they were taken over by the Army special forces and the Israeli security forces who transferred them to Israeli territory. There they underwent an initial medical check-up.

At the same time, the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners from Ofer prison began. The 13 Israeli hostages are all from Kibbutz Beeri, one of the hardest hit on October 7th. They are Emily Hand (9), Hila Rotem (13), Maya Regev (21), Noam and Alma Or, brother and sister (17 and 13), Shiri and Noga Weiss, mother and daughter (53 and 18), Sharon and Noam Avigdori, mother and daughter (52 and 12), Shoshan Haran (67), Adi, Yahel and Neveh Shoham (38, 3 and 8). Hamas had delayed the release because it had been motivated by the fact that "Israel has not implemented the elements of the agreement". An accusation completely rejected by Israel which had threatened "the resumption of fighting from midnight tonight if the hostages are not freed". The halt to the agreement came from the al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, which targeted the failure to comply with "the agreement on the entry of humanitarian trucks into the northern Gaza Strip and the failure to comply with the agreed standards for the release of prisoners". Hamas's objection, according to what was learned, referred to the names and the temporal order in which Israel scheduled the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Egypt and Qatar have taken steps to calm the waters and move forward with the agreements.

(Unioneonline/ss)

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