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Israel-Hamas truce extended as more hostages released

Eleven more hostages were released from the Gaza Strip by Hamas late on Monday and were said to be having medical checks
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

06.41 28 Nov 2023


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Israel-Hamas truce extended as...

Israel-Hamas truce extended as more hostages released

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

06.41 28 Nov 2023


Share this article


Israel has said 11 more hostages have been released from the Gaza Strip by Hamas.

Late on Monday they were said to be having medical checks before being reunited with their families.

Kibbutz Nir Oz said in a statement that all of them were from its community, but that 49 were still being held.

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It is the fourth release of hostages under a ceasefire deal that began on Friday.

Israel is set to free 33 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.

The truce was set to end early on Tuesday, but mediator Qatar said it would now be extended for two days.

Some 240 people were kidnapped during the deadly Hamas attack in Israel.

'Glimpse of hope'

The head of the UN has welcomed the extension as "a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war".

However António Guterres warned it was still not enough time to meet the aid needs of the Gaza Strip.

He said the dialogue that led to the agreement must continue, "resulting in a full humanitarian ceasefire, for the benefit of the people of Gaza, Israel and the wider region".

Mr Guterres once again called for the remaining hostages to be released immediately and unconditionally.

Meanwhile Gazans in the north of the enclave had their first sip of clean water in weeks on Monday as a continuing pause in fighting enabled broadening aid access to the Strip, the UN said.

"This aid barely registers against the huge needs of 1.7 million displaced people," a statement from the UN Secretary-General's office said.

"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day," it added.

Food and medicine

The UN emergency relief coordination office, OCHA, said on Sunday that a joint UN convoy collected 7,600 doses of vaccines for various diseases from the Gaza Ministry of Health warehouse.

It said these were successfully brought to the south, as they would have become unusable due to a lack of refrigeration in the north.

Aid convoys brought ready-to-eat food to four shelters run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in north Gaza's Jabalia camp on Sunday, as well as tents, blankets and bottled water.

Reports from health authorities indicate that nearly 15,000 Palestinians in total have died in the enclave since October 7th, with two-thirds of the dead being women and children.

Main image: Destruction in the Gaza Strip, 22-11-23. Image: © UNICEF/Hassan Islyeh

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Antonio Guterres Gaza Gaza Strip Hamas Humanitarian Ceasefire Israel Jabalia Camp Kibbutz Nir Oz OCHA Palestinian Prisoners Qatar Truce UNRWA

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