Ten Israeli nationals and two Thai hostages have been released by Hamas during the first day of the two-day extended truce on Tuesday (November 28, 2023).
The truce is expected to last till Wednesday.
The extension of the truce was reached ahead of the initial four-day temporary ceasefire that ended on Monday (November 27, 2023).
“The release of eight Israeli women, six of them elderly, and one mother and her teen daughter on Tuesday came hours after an apparent violation of the temporary halt in fighting, now in its fifth day, when Israeli troops were targeted in northern Gaza by Hamas explosives and gunfire,” reported The Times of Israel.
Meanwhile, 30 Palestinians were also released by Israel as part of the truce deal.
The Israel Prison Service (IPS) was quoted as saying by BBC that all the prisoners were released from the Ofer prison in the West Bank and the Jerusalem Detention Center.
Meanwhile, the brutal attack by Hamas on 7 October followed by Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, has only highlighted the importance of a peaceful and just solution to the situation in the Middle East, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Tuesday (November 28, 2023).
Addressing the Assembly’s annual debate on the Question of Palestine, Dennis Francis urged UN Member States to find common ground, engage with each other in good faith, and increase collective resolve to end the crisis.
“The longer the fear, distrust, appetite for revenge, hatred, and anxiety fester and deepen further – the more lethal the psychological chasm grows and the darker the shadow it will cast over generations to come,” he said.
Francis highlighted that sustained security and stability in the Middle East “cannot and will not” be achieved without a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace.
The only viable way to break the endless cycle of conflict, violence and mutual pain and suffering, he said, is through a two-State solution – in line with General Assembly resolutions.
