Hamas said on Saturday (Nov 25) that it was delaying the release of a second group of hostages under the ongoing four-day truce deal until Israel committed to allowing aid trucks to enter northern Gaza. In a statement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades the hostage releases would be delayed if Israel did not adhere to the agreed terms for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel has not commented yet. Speaking to the news agency AFP, a Hamas source said the handover of 14 hostages to the Red Cross had begun, then said the transfer process had been halted.
Egypt pushing for extension of truce
Under the four-day truce deal between Israel and Hamas, a total of 50 hostages are to be exchanged for 150 Palestinian prisoners. On Friday, the first exchange happened on Friday where 24 hostages including Israelis and Thais were released in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israeli jails.
Saturday’s delay comes hours after Egypt said that it received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the truce. In a statement, Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) chief Diaa Rashwan said that the group was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement which would mean “the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
Israel had earlier said the truce could be extended if Hamas continued to release hostages at a rate of at least 10 per day.
Israeli ship targeted as fears of war spilling over escalate
An Israeli ship came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean on Friday as the fears of the Israel-Hamas war spilling over are escalating. According to a report by the news agency Associated Press, a US defence official said the CMA CGM Symi was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters. The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the official said and declined to elaborate on what intelligence the American military gathered to assess that Iran was behind the attack.
Citing data from Marine Traffic, the report said that the ship had its Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracker switched off since Tuesday when it left Dubai’s Jebel Ali port.
Ships are supposed to keep their AIS active for safety reasons, but crews will turn them off if it appears they might be targeted. Earlier too, the Symi switched off the AIS tracker when it was travelling through the Red Sea past Yemen.
(With inputs from agencies)
