🔴 Live: 10 Israeli and four Thai hostages released from Gaza, Israel's army says

A Red Cross vehicle with released hostages arrives at the Rafah border in the southern Gaza Strip, November 29, 2023. © Ibraheem Abu Mustafa, Reuters

Ten Israeli hostages and four Thai nationals have been released from Gaza, Israel's army said late Wednesday. Qatar's foreign ministry said those released included Dutch, German and American dual nationals. Hours before a six-day pause in fighting expired, a Hamas source said the group was not yet satisfied with Israeli proposals for another extension. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1). 

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Summary 

• Ten Israeli hostages and four Thai nationals have been released from Gaza, Israel's army confirmed late Wednesday. Qatar's foreign ministry said those released included Dutch, German and American dual nationals. 
• Two Russians were released by Hamas earlier in the day. 
• With the temporary truce set to expire at 7am local time in Gaza, a Hamas source said the group was not yet satisfied with Israel's proposals for another two-day extension. "What is being proposed in the discussions to extend the truce is not the best," the source told AFP.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would work on extending the pause in fighting as he visits Israel. 
• Gazans are "in the midst of an epic humanitarian catastrophe before the eyes of the world", UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday. Guterres also said that reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7 must be thoroughly investigated and called for all hostages held in Gaza to be released immediately. 
• Two minors were killed by the Israeli army during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday, said the Palestinian Authority.
• Israel and Hamas on Monday agreed to extend their four-day truce agreed last week by 2 days. The extension provides for the release of 20 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 60 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Since Friday, Hamas has released 81 hostages, mostly Israeli nationals, while Israel has freed 180 Palestinian prisoners.
• Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government. Since then, more than 14,500 people have been killed in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says.

 

Key developments of Tuesday, November 28:

• In the latest swap since the ceasefire began Friday, Israel said 10 of its citizens and two Thai nationals were freed by Hamas and had been returned to Israel. Soon after, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners. The truce is due to end after one more exchange Wednesday night.

• For the first time, Israel and Hamas blamed each other for an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. There was no indication it would endanger the truce, which has enabled humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza.

• CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the ceasefire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region this week.

For more, read yesterday's blog here.

About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:

Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. 

Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.

In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies. 

For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.

(FRANCE 24 with AP) 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)