Israel-Hamas war: More hostages released as efforts continue to extend truce

하마스, 일시 휴전 엿새째 인질 16명 석방 블링컨 이스라엘 도착 Over in Gaza. More hostages have been released on the sixth day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Mediators are pushing for another extension of the truce that’s set to expire in a few hours. Bae Eun-ji has the latest. Just hours before the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is due to expire, 16 hostages were released by Hamas --including 10 Israelis, 4 Thai nationals, and 2 Russians. They were handed over to the Red Cross late Wednesday, on the sixth day of the truce and were taken to five different hospitals in Israel. In exchange, Israel also released 30 Palestinians, mostly women and minors. Over the first five days of the ceasefire, which began last Friday --Hamas released 81 hostages --and Israel freed 180 Palestinians from prison, mainly women and minors. With the extended truce set to expire at 7 AM on Thursday, local time, mediators including Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. continue to work toward another potential extension of the ceasefire. But the two sides have yet to reach an agreement and on Wednesday the Israeli Prime Minister vowed that fighting would continue. “There is no situation in which we do not go back to fighting until the end. This is my policy. The entire Government is behind it. The soldiers are behind it. The people are behind it – this is exactly what we will do.“ Amid growing international pressure to extend the truce, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv early on Thursday, his third trip to the region since the war broke out. He is set to meet with Israeli officials to discuss extending the temporary truce and boosting humanitarian aid into Gaza. He is also expected to visit the West Bank, where he will likely meet with Palestine’s president. Meanwhile, Hamas has claimed a 10-month-old hostage, who’s believed to be the youngest captive, was killed during Israeli bombing. The militant group said he was killed along with his four-year-old brother and their mother. Israel, which has been accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields, said it is assessing the claim. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News. #Antony_Blinken #Israel_Hamas_conflict #Israel_Palestine_war #ceasefire #Gaza_Strip #Palestinian_militant #Israeli_Defense_Forces #Middle_East #truce #이스라엘_팔레스타인_전쟁 #블링컨 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-11-30, 12:00 (KST)