Strikes continue in , pending approval of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the two sides. Specifically, according to residents of the area, around 70 people died from Israeli airstrikes during last night.
The strikes came hours after the announcement of a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal that would end a 15-month war between Israel and Hamas that has ravaged the Gaza Strip and sparked a humanitarian crisis.
The deal has yet to be formally approved, as Israel’s security council postponed a meeting scheduled for Thursday morning.
Israel’s approval of the agreement
At the same time, Tel Aviv may, but American sources from both the outgoing and the incoming administration take it for granted that Benjamin Netanyahu will overcome the internal loophole and from Sunday and for 42 days the guns will be silent in the Palestinian enclave.
At the same time, according to what has been officially announced by the Ministry of the Interior and the Israeli army, a total of 251 people of all ages were kidnapped in the terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7. Of these, 157 have already returned to Israel during the seven-day truce from November 23 to 30, 2023.
The number of hostages
Today USA – Israel and Egypt. At least 34 of those people are dead, with Hamas agreeing to return the bodies but in the final stages of a ceasefire. Israel is leaking that the dead may be more than 40, but this will only be known after the process is completed and if everything goes smoothly.
Of the 94 total hostages – dead and alive – 81 are men and 13 are women. In addition to them, since 2014, Hamas has held four more hostages – two of whom are dead and whom it has agreed to exchange in the event that Israel agrees to enter into the discussion and return the body of Yahya Sinwar – something that today does not Netanyahu wishes to discuss.
Of the 94 hostages, 84 are Israeli citizens, 8 are from Thailand, one is a Nepalese citizen and one is from Tanzania. Among the hostages, however, there are also seven who have American citizenship and it is certain that they will return to Israel within the framework of the specific 42-day agreement. Of these 7 people, four are considered dead, while the hostages still alive are Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel. The first two of them are expected to be released immediately, the first because he meets the age criteria – he is over 60 years old – and the second because he is reportedly injured and needs immediate hospitalization. And the third American is expected to return to Israeli territory, but not in the early stages of the process.
On the other hand, today in Israel, based on official data, there are more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in the country’s prisons. These do not include those arrested by Israeli forces after the events of October 7, for whom little information is known.
Protests about the deal
Meanwhile, demonstrations took place on Thursday morning in Jerusalem, with families of Israeli soldiers killed during the conflict placing fake coffins, covered in Israeli flags, in the streets to protest the deal.
