The Israeli army said Tuesday that 10 Israelis and 2 foreigners held hostage in Gaza have been released, arriving in Egypt on the fifth day of a temporary ceasefire. Hamas released nine women and a 17-year-old late on Tuesday evening local time, the Israeli army said. The hostages will be flown to hospitals in Israel, where they will be reunited with their families. Around 30 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released as part of the deal negotiated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, the AP reports. The original four-day ceasefire, which expired Monday, was extended for an additional two days.
Earlier Tuesday, mediators met in Qatar to try to extend the ceasefire beyond Wednesday, and for the first time since it began, Israel and Hamas traded accusations of a serious violation with an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. But there was no indication that it would endanger the truce or the planned exchanges of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Israel has vowed to resume the war with "full force" to destroy Hamas once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal.
CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, are in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the ceasefire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat told the AP on condition of anonymity. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region this week, also with an eye to extending the truce. Hamas and other militants are still holding about 160 hostages out of the 240 seized in their Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel has said it is willing to extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages that Hamas releases, according to the deal. But Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive Israeli soldiers.
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