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It’s day four of the four-day ceasefire. Another batch of Palestinian and Israeli hostages were released yesterday as the two sides kept to the terms of the four-day ceasefire pact brokered by Egypt and Qatar last week. Hamas released 13 Israeli and four foreign nationals and Israel released 39 Palestinians. Some 150 Palestinians, 50 Israelis, and an unknown number of foreign nationals will be freed during the truce, which expires at 7am on Tuesday.
An extended truce could be on the table with both Israel and Hamas showing openness to the idea. In a Telegram statement, Hamas said that it is looking to extend the truce after the four-day period, while the Israel Defense Forces spokesman said that his government is looking to secure the release of as many of its hostages as possible before resuming its bombardment of Gaza. Under the agreement, Israel said it would extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas. Truce mediators Egypt and Qatar have both signaled to the possibility of a truce extension.
More fuel and aid enter Gaza: Seven fuel trucks and 100 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, a significant jump from what was entering the strip before the truce but still below the 200 trucks per day agreed upon last week — a point that Hamas voiced its discontent with to Qatari and Egyptian officials. Aid groups are expected to deliver the biggest shipment of aid Gaza has seen in over a month, a UN official told Reuters.
Another claim that Israel had prior knowledge of the 7 October attack. A senior Israeli military intelligence officer reportedly dismissed warnings predicting the 7 October attack weeks before it happened, calling it an “imaginary scenario,” two unnamed sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. The warning came from sentries on Israel’s border with Gaza, who had footage of Hamas rehearsing taking Israeli hostages and training to enter Israeli territory. This echoes claims from Egyptian officials last month, who said that they had warned the Israeli government about a planned attack.
DIPLOMACY- Shoukry spoke with US Secretary of State Blinken | El Sisi thanks Qatari emir for efforts to broker the truce | Israel demands apology from Irish PM for using biblical allusion in statement on an Irish hostage’s release.
ON THE GROUND- Four commanders of Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades have been killed, according to the militant group’s official Telegram channel | Another Israel-linked tanker is seized off the coast of Yemen.
