Hamas freed 11 hostages in exchange for 33 prisoners
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Photo: Collected
Israel has again released 39 Palestinians from prison in the fourth phase of the ongoing ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. In return, 11 hostages were freed by Hamas, the pro-independence organization of Gaza.
Among those freed were six Argentines, three French nationals and two German nationals, a spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry said.
On Tuesday (November 28), Hamas and the Israeli army confirmed the matter, according to news agency AFP and news outlet Al Jazeera.
Israel's prison authorities said early Tuesday that 33 more Palestinian prisoners were released "overnight" under a ceasefire agreement signed to bring back prisoners from the Gaza Strip, reports said.
The release of this latest prisoner brings the total number of Palestinian prisoners released by Israel to 150 in the four days of the ceasefire.
On the other hand, the Israeli military said that 11 prisoners from the Gaza Strip were released by the Palestinian independence armed group Hamas.
In a statement on Monday, the Israeli military said, "The 11 prisoners released based on information received from the Red Cross are currently on their way to Israel."
Shortly thereafter, the released prisoners arrived in Israel. An Israeli military spokesman later said the released prisoners would be medically examined and then reunited with their families.
Earlier, the four-day Hamas-Israel ceasefire was due to expire early Tuesday morning local time. The ceasefire was extended for another 2 days before the end of the scheduled period.
According to Israel, they will start attacking Gaza again after rescuing the hostages through the ceasefire. It may take a minimum of one to ten weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the operation they have launched in Gaza will only end with the elimination of Hamas.
But the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestinians - UNRW said the situation will worsen if Israel starts attacking southern Gaza to eliminate Hamas.
It should be noted that after more than a month and a half of war, Hamas and Israel reached a four-day ceasefire agreement last Friday. According to the agreement, Hamas released 50 prisoners. On the other hand, Israel released 150 Palestinians from their prisons. Monday was the last day of this deal.
Although Israel has threatened to resume attacks on Gaza once the ceasefire expires. But at the last minute, Israel's ceasefire with Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip was extended for two more days.