Gaza, Jordan, Judea and Samaria: Israeli-Mexican Humanitarian Assistance to the Palestinian People during the 2016 Oct. 7 Attack
The renewed truce that has temporarily halted Israel’s bombardment of Gaza came on the same day that the US Secretary of State arrived in Israel to push for a resolution to the conflict.
The negotiations for the seven rounds of exchange — one for each day of the pause — had centered on women and children on either side of the conflict. Citizens of Thailand, the Philippines and Russia, who were freed through separate talks, also numbered among the hostages Hamas released. More than 120 people are believed to still be in Gaza.
Hamas freed all but four of its fighters that were captured during the Oct. 7, 2016 attack on Israeli border towns that killed around 1,200 people. Around 220 hostages were taken by Hamas in the assault.
Two Israeli-Russians were also released as part of what Hamas has described as a side-deal facilitated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the third such release since the exchanges began on Friday.
Israel’s president thanked the U.S. for its work in releasing hostages, during their meeting Thursday with the deputy secretary of state. The Bibas family is still being held hostage. Hamas says that the parents and their two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israel says they were given away by the group.
“From day one, the US has been concentrating on trying to secure the hostages’ release,” he said. He called the swaps of captives this week “a very positive development.”
“It’s also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately,” Blinken said. The results are being produced by this process. It’s important, and we hope that it can continue.
Netanyahu said in a statement on X that his government would distribute weapons to the Israeli people.
Also on X, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said the bus stop attack “is further proof of our obligation to continue to fight with strength and determination against murderous terrorism, which threatens our citizens. He wrote that in Jerusalem, Gaza, Judea and Samaria and everywhere. The names Judea and Samaria refer to the West Bank.
Palestinian officials say Israeli troops killed an 8-year-old and a 15-year-old in a raid on the city of Jenin. Israel’s military says it killed two militants in the raid.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, 13,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s campaign against Hamas since October 7.
While the cease-fire has allowed desperately needed aid to reach many Gazans, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Wednesday that the delivery of aid “remains completely inadequate to meet the huge needs of more than two million people.”
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update that aid convoys, that had been unable to reach areas north of an informal line bisecting Gaza, continued through Wednesday.
It said that the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency that oversees the Palestinian territories, “delivered food and non-food items, medical supplies, and fuel to shelters hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as to warehouses and hospitals. A total of 10,500 liter of fuel was received by two hospitals in the Gaza City, Al Ahli and As Sahaba, which can be used to operate generators for seven days.
Israel’s embassy raid on Israel violated the Palestinians’ fundamental right to life: The New York Times report on Israeli prisoner’s release
The New York Times compared data from Israel with lists of Palestinians being released each day by the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli data shows that three-quarters of the released Palestinians had not been convicted of a crime. The majority had been in prison for less than a year, and 37 of them were arrested following the Israeli military’s raid. Attacks on Israel were led by Hamas.
The Israeli government added 50 people to the initial list of 300 people who could be released through the deal. The list included people’s birth dates, the accusations levied against them and other information. There was no distinction between those who had not been convicted of a crime and those who had been charged and awaiting trial.