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Hamas Willing to Extend Truce, Hostage Exchange


FILE —A Palestinian prisoner hugs his mother after being released from an Israeli jail in exchange for Israeli hostages released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 26, 2023.
FILE —A Palestinian prisoner hugs his mother after being released from an Israeli jail in exchange for Israeli hostages released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 26, 2023.

JERUSALEM — Palestinian militant group Hamas signaled that it was willing to prolong a truce with Israel, while 13 Israeli hostages were feed Sunday in exchange for 39 Palestinians.

Palestinian militant group Hamas signalled that it was willing to prolong a truce with Israel that entered its final 24 hours on Monday.

An extension would open the way to further releases of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas has so far freed 39 Israeli hostages and Israel has released 117 Palestinian prisoners under the terms of the four-day truce agreement.

A further 19 foreign nationals have been released from Gaza under separate arrangements.

Gaza militants took about 240 captives from southern Israel in an unprecedented October 7 attack that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.

In response, Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas and unleashed an aerial bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza that the Hamas government says has killed nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians.

Here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:

Third hostage-prisoner exchange

Another 13 hostages were freed Sunday under the terms of the truce, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.

The third group of hostages released included a four-year-old American citizen called Abigail whose parents were both killed in the Hamas attacks.

FILE —Yuval Brodutch, 8, cuddles his father Avihai Brodutch shortly after they were reunited in Israel on November 26, following the arrival of Avihai's wife Hagar and children Oria Brodutch, 4, Yuval Brodutch, 8, and Ofri Brodutch, 10, in Israel on November 27, 2023.
FILE —Yuval Brodutch, 8, cuddles his father Avihai Brodutch shortly after they were reunited in Israel on November 26, following the arrival of Avihai's wife Hagar and children Oria Brodutch, 4, Yuval Brodutch, 8, and Ofri Brodutch, 10, in Israel on November 27, 2023.

The militants separately freed three Thai nationals and a Russian-Israeli citizen.

Hamas is expected to free a total of 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israel over the course of the four-day pause brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

The Israeli prime minister's office said it was reviewing a list of the next group of hostages to be released later on Monday.

Truce extension hopes

Calls grew for the truce between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip to be extended before its scheduled end at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday.

A Hamas source said the Islamist movement was open to prolonging it by "two to four days."

"The resistance believes it is possible to ensure the release of 20 to 40 Israeli prisoners" in that time, the source close to the movement said.

Israel faces pressure from the families of hostages, as well as allies, to extend the truce to secure more releases.

Netanyahu in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday made the first visit by an Israeli premier to Gaza since 2005, telling soldiers there that the war would continue "until victory."

"Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the power, the strength, the will and the determination to achieve all the war's goals, and we will," he added.

Hamas says five leaders dead

The military wing of Hamas said Sunday that the commander of its northern brigade and four other senior leaders had been killed during Israel's offensive against the Islamist movement.

In a statement, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said Ahmed al-Ghandour was a member of its military council, and named three of the others killed, among them Ayman Siyyam, head of its rocket division, while its West Bank branch confirmed another leader's death.

Tanker seized off Yemen

A tanker linked to an Israel-affiliated company was seized off Yemen on Sunday by armed individuals, US defence officials said, following a series of incidents on the same shipping route.

American and coalition forces responded to the emergency and the crew of the M/V Central Park was safe, one of the officials said.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels had previously threatened to attack the tanker if it did not divert to the port of Hodeida, according to the maritime security firm Ambrey.

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