Hamas releases 17 hostages on third day of ceasefire

하마스, 휴전 3일차에 이스라엘인•외국인 등 인질 17명 석방 Hamas has released 17 hostages in exchange for 39 Palestinians held captive by Israel, on the third day of an agreed 4-day temporary ceasefire. While the Palestinian military group hinted at possibly extending the ceasefire to release more hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed, he’s open to the idea, but the war will “continue full power“ once the ceasefire ends. Lee Seung-jae has more. On the third day of hostage releases on Sunday, Hamas released 17 hostages, including 13 Israelis in exchange for 39 Palestinians who had be held at Israeli detention centers. 33 of the Palestinians released by Israel were minors. The exchange came despite a delay of several hours after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement but the issue was resolved through the mediation of Qatar and Egypt. The New York Times reported on the harsh conditions that hostages faced through the stories of relatives who had spoken to those released by Hamas. The newspaper reported that the hostages lived in complete isolation from the outside world and returned looking emaciated. They mainly ate rice and bread, but there were times when they could not eat, leading to some of them losing as much as six to eight kilograms during the ordeal. Among the released hostages from Gaza was a four-year-old American girl, who had been left orphaned after her parents were killed during the October 7th attack. While praising her release, U.S. President Joe Biden also called on the need to extend the ceasefire, so that more hostages can be released moving forward. “That’s my goal -that’s our goal -to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza.“ The Associated Press reports that Hamas is willing to release more hostages in exchange for an extended ceasefire. Citing sources close to the Palestinian military group, they’re willing to release an additional 20 to 40 hostages. With 58 hostages being released in the first 3 days of the 4-day temporary ceasefire, so far, it’s still short of the reported 240 people taken captive by Hamas on October 7th. Meanwhile, in a video statement to President Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is open to extending the current ceasefire, but once it is over, the military’s ground operation will return in full force. According to the prime minister, while the current four-day agreement can be extended to allow for more hostages to be released, he stressed that at the end of the deal, Israel would continue its operations to destroy Hamas. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News. #Israel_Hamas_conflict #Israel_Palestine_war #hostages #Gaza_Strip #Palestinian_militant #Israeli_Defense_Forces #Middle_East #ceasefire #truce #이스라엘_팔레스타인_전쟁 #하마스 #인질석방 #휴전 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-11-27, 09:00 (KST)