Despite mutual accusations of ceasefire violations, truce between Israel and Hamas Gaza violence continued for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, with Palestinian militias releasing 12 hostages in the strip and Israeli authorities freeing 30 Palestinian prisoners.

Ten Israeli hostages (all women) and two Thais were released on Tuesday afternoon and flown to Israel via Egypt, after which release of 15 Palestinian women and 15 minors from Israeli prisons as part of a prisoner-for-prisoner exchange, a key element of a temporary ceasefire that began Friday and will last until Wednesday.

From Friday Hamas frees 60 Israeli hostages and Israel released 180 Palestinian prisoners. They are all women and children on both sides. Palestinian militias also released 21 foreign captives, including two Thais, in the Gaza Strip.

As has been the norm since the agreement began on Friday, Gazan hostages left the Rafah crossing with Egypt and then entered Israeli territory, while Palestinians were transferred from various Israeli prisons to Ofer prison and the Jerusalem detention center in custody, and from there They were released to the West Bank or the Holy City.

All this comes as Qatar, Egypt and the US mediate between Hamas and Israel over a possible extension of the truce period that has been agreed upon so far. should end tomorrow Wednesday.

Just Tuesday, CIA Director William Burns, Israeli Mossad Director David Barney and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel met in Qatar to explore options for achieving a ceasefire constant, he pointed to EFE source of security.

Israel responded positively to these proposals and insisted that a possible extension of the truce include surrender of captured Israeli soldierssince the agreement still in force only provides for the release of civilian women and children, the above-mentioned source added.

Qatar, the main mediator between Hamas and Israel, has promised continue to look for ways to extend the ceasefireShortly after, on Tuesday, the Israeli army and Hamas accused each other of violating the truce following an incident in northern Gaza that left several Israeli soldiers injured, although the situation remained calm for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, Gazans have taken advantage of the cessation of hostilities to widely devastate the enclave, where over the past 24 hours About 160 bodies of dead Palestinians were removed under the rubble, although an estimated 6,500 people are still missing, not counting the 15,000 confirmed dead from Israeli bombing.

According to Hamas, about 250 thousand families were left homeless after Israeli attacks caused material damage to approximately 300,000 homes in the enclave, including 50,000 completely destroyed and another 250,000 partially destroyed homes.

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At the same time, the Gaza government continued to warn of a serious humanitarian crisis in the enclave, caused by a near-total Israeli siege that vetoed access to food, water, fuel and medicine during about 50 days of warwhich still causes power outages due to a lack of gasoline for generators.

The shortage has begun to ease with two hundred aid trucks arriving daily since Friday, but Gaza authorities say this is not enough to satisfy basic needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants.

VIDEO | Day five of the truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip as they continue to release hostages for prisoners. pic.twitter.com/91M9lEzfva

— EFE News (@EFEnoticias) November 28, 2023

Towards a “humanitarian catastrophe” joins “the coming of winter and the rains”, so the lack of fuel to generate electricity will become another additional problem as temperatures drop.

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Despite a possible further extension of the ceasefire, Israel insists on releasing the hostages once again. will attack the Gaza Strip again with the goal of eradicating Hamas.

“The Israeli army is ready to continue fighting, and we will take advantage of the days of pause to learn” and “affirm future operational plans,” said Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, noting that “the dismantling of Hamas will continue, another warning that its military operation in the Gaza Strip will “continue”. (EFE)