Gaza war: negotiations on ceasefire continue

Gaza war: negotiations on ceasefire continue

Following the release of another group of hostages, negotiations are continuing on a further extension of the ceasefire in the Gaza war, which ended on Thursday morning.

The USA announced that it would continue to work with Israel, Qatar and Egypt to see whether the ceasefire could be extended further. Even today, hostages can be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners - according to media reports, Israel received another list of names of hostages held by the terrorist organization Hamas. The G7 states also called for an extension of the ceasefire.

On Tuesday evening, the Islamists released ten Israelis and two foreigners, including a woman with German citizenship. She was the eleventh German-Israeli citizen to be released. A total of 81 hostages were released during the pause in fighting that began on Friday. 61 of them are Israelis, some of whom hold other citizenships, and 20 are foreigners. In return, Israel has so far released 180 Palestinian prisoners from its jails.

The Gulf emirate of Qatar, Egypt and the USA are mediating in the talks on the ceasefire. According to the German Press Agency, CIA Director William Burns and the head of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, arrived in Doha on Tuesday to discuss an extension of the ceasefire with Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar has good contacts with the organization. The top Hamas leadership lives in the Gulf emirate.

Israel receives further hostage list for release

As in previous days, Hamas sent another list of hostages to be released, according to media reports. The Times of Israel, citing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, reported that the families of the hostages concerned had been notified, but did not give an exact number. This would be the sixth group of hostages to be released from Islamist control during the lull in fighting.

In return for the release of the twelve hostages on Tuesday evening, Israel released another group of Palestinians from Israeli prisons. All 30 prisoners were released from various prisons, according to the Israeli prison authorities. According to this information, 15 of them were female prisoners, some still juveniles, and 15 male minors, the youngest of whom was 14 years old. The Palestinian prisoners released so far had been convicted of knife attacks on Israelis, arson and attacks with firebombs or stones.

G7 states want longer ceasefire

Before the ceasefire expired, the Group of Seven (G7) economically strong democracies spoke out in favor of an extension of the agreement and demanded the release of all hostages. "If there are longer pauses that go beyond these two days, then you know we are in favor of that, and we will continue to work on it," said John Kirby, communications director of the United States National Security Council. The US government wants all hostages to be released. The G7 foreign ministers of the USA, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and Canada demanded the same.

Washington hopes that more hostages with US citizenship will be released, said Kirby. So far, a four-year-old American girl who witnessed the murder of her parents in the Hamas massacre has been among those released. The government expects two more women with US citizenship to be detained. Another seven with a US passport are considered missing - it is not clear if they are among the hostages.

Netanyahu insists on military destruction of Hamas

Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Netanyahu reaffirmed the goal of destroying Hamas militarily. He did not say how long the ceasefire could last. "We have agreed that the women and children and the foreign hostages will be released first. After that happens, we will continue the fighting," Netanyahu told Welt TV in an interview published on Tuesday, which was conducted in English and translated into German by Welt TV.

Hamas had committed the worst murders and would do so again, the conservative head of government said. "We have absolutely no choice but to destroy Hamas," he said. Israel would continue to do everything in its power to spare civilians in the Gaza Strip as far as possible. However, according to Hamas, almost 15,000 people have already been killed and around 36,000 injured there. A further 7,000 inhabitants of the coastal strip are considered missing.

Hamas took Israeli youths hostage with a dog

There was a small surprise during the hostage exchange on Tuesday: one of the released hostages had her dog Bella with her during her 52 days in captivity. Netanyahu's office published a photo of the 17-year-old back in Israel with her mother, who had also been released, and her Shih Tzu dog Bella. The young woman had been taken to the Gaza Strip together with other family members and had kept the dog with her.

What is important today

Israel is waiting for the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The UN Security Council, chaired by China, is due to meet in New York this afternoon German time. At the end of his trip to the Middle East, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier talks to the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani about the Middle East conflict and the release of hostages. The Islamist organization Hamas called for worldwide solidarity protests for the people in the Gaza Strip.

1. The G7 states expressed their support for an extended ceasefire in the Gaza war, urging the release of all hostages and stressing their desire for longer pauses if possible.
2. Following the release of another list of hostages, negotiations are ongoing to extend the ceasefire further, with Israel reportedly receiving the list from Hamas.
3. In light of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, including the Gaza war, diplomatic efforts are underway to mediate peace talks between Israel and groups like Hamas, with the USA, Qatar, and Egypt playing key roles.
4. Despite the ongoing ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on the military destruction of Hamas, emphasizing the need to prioritize the release of women, children, and foreign hostages before resuming hostilities.
5. The release of hostages and prisoners has become a central aspect of the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza conflict, with Hamas continuously sending lists of hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Source: www.dpa.com