Everything was prepared this Thursday for the first ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to be put into effect.. However, after ten in the morning, the Israeli bombings on Gaza continued; as they have done every day for almost seven weeks. Contradictory news then arrived about the delay of the truce; increasing uncertainty both in the Palestinian population and in the families of Israeli hostages who saw the return of their loved ones closer.. Finally, Qatar, the main mediator, has announced that the ceasefire will be delayed by one day. The cessation of hostilities will begin at 7:00 a.m. this Friday (6:00 a.m. Spanish peninsular time), although it will not be until 4:00 p.m. when the first 13 kidnapped by Hamas will leave Gaza.
One of the possible reasons for this delay has been the list of hostages and prisoners who will be released.. To close these issues, the head of Mossad (the Israeli intelligence agency), David Barnea, traveled to Qatar on Wednesday night, where he received the list of kidnapped people and handed over the list of Palestinian prisoners. On this Thursday afternoon, the Israeli Government acknowledged that it already had the names of the first batch, so everything indicates that the release will finally be this Friday.. “Designated officials verify the details of the list and are in contact with all families,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
For its part, Qatar has specified that the first 13 hostages will be women and children, taking into account “purely humanitarian” issues, said the Qatari Foreign Minister, Majed al Ansari.. Another of the countries that, together with the Gulf State and the United States, is an active party in the negotiation is Egypt, which has also acknowledged having received the list of hostages and prisoners this Thursday and “hopes” that the ceasefire will begin on Friday. humanitarian.
In total, during the four days of the truce, Hamas is expected to hand over 50 hostages, between 10 and 13 each day, in exchange for a truce in hostilities and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners who have not been convicted of blood crimes.. The latter, all young or women. Although the agreement is for four days, the signatory parties contemplate that the truce can be extended to a maximum of ten, provided that a minimum of 10 hostages are released each day.. This would imply that up to 150 of the 240 kidnapped people could return to Israel, while the Hebrew State would free up to 300 Palestinians.. The exchange ratio would always be one hostage for every three prisoners.
The al-Qasam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, have also confirmed the start of the truce and have recalled that the pact with Israel includes the entry into the Strip, including the northern part, of between 100 and 300 trucks with food and medical aid, in addition to fuel, essential for the electricity supply and the operation of hospitals. In addition, the Red Cross will be able to visit the hostages who are still being held and will provide them with medical care, something that the Islamist organization has not assured.
Israel has also committed to suspending the flight of surveillance drones over the Strip: six hours a day, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the north, and all day in the south.. This petition seeks to prevent the Israeli Government from locating the hideouts of both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The bombings do not reduce their intensity
With the truce date constantly wavering, the war has continued with the same intensity. This Thursday, Israel “continued to attack terrorists, infrastructure and locate underground posts” of Hamas, the military spokesman said. “During the Army's activities in Gaza over the past day, airstrikes were carried out on more than 300 targets,” including, according to Israel, “military command centers, tunnels, weapons storage and manufacturing facilities, and places of launch of anti-tank missiles.
The Israeli Army reported that the 401st Combat Brigade found “four entrances to tunnels of significant depth” in an area around Jabalia, in the north of the Palestinian enclave, “from which significant mortar launches towards Israel were recorded.” “. “These tunnels used by the Hamas terrorist organization, which are connected to the electrical grid, converged on a central tunnel located in a building linked to a senior Hamas official,” reads the military statement. Israel claims that the city of Jabalia is already “completely surrounded.”
And it was precisely in the refugee camp in this town where the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, has reported the death of at least 27 people after an Israeli attack against a school managed by UNRWA.. Furthermore, the attacks have not only occurred in the north, but also in the southern town of Khan Yunis. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported this Thursday the death of dozens of people and hundreds of injuries due to the attacks throughout the Strip.
Bombings have also occurred in northern Israel. The Lebanese Shiite militia party Hezbollah fired nearly 50 projectiles this Thursday, being its largest attack since the outbreak of the conflict.. According to Israeli media, two projectiles hit some homes, with no information on casualties at the moment.. Hezbollah had assured on Wednesday that they would join the ceasefire, but when this did not happen, they have continued their attacks on Israel.
Since the Hebrew State declared war on Hamas in response to the murder of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of more than 240, Israeli attacks have killed more than 14,800 Palestinians.. Among them, more than 6,150 minors.