HOSTAGE FAMILIES WANT SWIFT ACTION
Israel says 98 hostages are nonetheless being held in Gaza. About half are believed to be alive. They embody Israelis and non-Israelis. Of the whole, 94 have been seized within the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel and 4 have been held in Gaza since 2014.
For the primary time, Israeli authorities have formally knowledgeable hostage households of the names of the primary 33 to be launched but it surely stays unclear what number of of these on the listing are nonetheless alive.
The ceasefire accord emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the USA, Israel’s important supporter. In addition to the discharge of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the deal features a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
It additionally paves the way in which for a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, the place nearly all of the inhabitants has been displaced and faces starvation, illness and chilly. A World Well being Group official mentioned it ought to be attainable to scale up assist imports into Gaza to about 600 vans a day below the phrases of the deal.
Israel launched its marketing campaign in Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen burst into Israeli border-area communities on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 troopers and civilians and abducting over 250 hostages, based on Israeli tallies.
