Last Day of Ceasefire Extension, Israel-Hamas Releases 16 Hostages and 30 Detainees

Hostages released by the Hamas group upon arrival in Israel. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The militant group Hamas and Israel have again released hostages and detainees on each side, as the extended ceasefire entered its final day on Wednesday local time.

"In accordance with the provisions of the 6th day of the humanitarian pause agreement, 30 Palestinians were released today in exchange for the release of 10 hostages in Gaza," tweeted Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari on social media X, as quoted on November 30.

Apart from Israeli citizens, the Hamas group also released two Russian citizens and four Thai citizens, outside the framework of the agreement. Al-Ansari said that all the hostages were handed over to the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross).

Al-Ansari further detailed that the hostages released from Gaza consisted of five women and five children. Meanwhile, the released Palestinian prisoners consisted of 16 minors and 14 women.

"We are pleased to inform you that 16 people held hostage in Gaza have just been released, with the facilitation of the ICRC," the ICRC tweeted.

"Our team has removed it and handed it over to the Israeli authorities," he continued.

Meanwhile, the two-day extension of the ceasefire will end on Thursday morning local time. No agreement has been reached to extend the pause in fighting again.

In accordance with the terms of the 6th day of the humanitarian pause agreement, 30 Palestinians, will be released today in exchange for the release of 10 hostages in Gaza. In addition, to 2 Russian citizens & 4 Thai citizens outside the framework of the agreement were handed…

— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) November 29, 2023

Quoting Reuters, two Palestinian officials told them that talks were continuing regarding the possibility of extending the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting on Wednesday evening.

From Lebanon, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan was quoted by media affiliated with the militant group as saying efforts to extend the ceasefire "are not yet mature, and what we have seen so far is not worth studying."

An Israeli official previously said it was impossible to extend the ceasefire without a commitment to free all the women and children held hostage.

The official said Israel believed the militants were still holding enough women and children to extend the ceasefire for two to three days.

A Palestinian official said negotiators were considering whether to release the Israeli men on different terms than the exchange of three Palestinian prisoners for each Israeli hostage that applies to women and children.

It is known that so far the Hamas group has released around 93 hostages. Meanwhile, Israel has released around 210 prisoners.