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The truce between Israel and Hamas will continue for at least a seventh day Thursday, the IDF and Hamas said. Talks had been ongoing to extend the pause in fighting to allow for the release of more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The IDF said it would continue, and Hamas said it would continue for a seventh day, meaning Thursday.
An American Israeli dual citizen who had been held in Gaza was among the hostages freed today. She is the second U.S. citizen released since the cease-fire began.
Israel’s military said today that it is looking into Hamas’ claim that the youngest hostage held in Gaza, 10-month-old Kfir, has been killed, along with his 4-year-old brother, Ariel, and their mother, Shiri Bibas. Hamas has said the three hostages, some of the most prominent faces of the crisis, were killed in Israeli bombardment.
Israeli forces said they carried out a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and killed two senior militants. Graphic video shared on social media showed a group of boys being shot at in a side street in Jenin. The Palestinian Health Ministry said two children were killed in the area, including an 8-year-old boy.
The U.S. says it has urged Israel against any military assault on southern Gaza unless it has a clear plan to limit civilian suffering. But President Joe Biden is sticking to his belief that despite intense pressure to change course, a close embrace of Israel gives him greater influence with its leaders and public.
Shooting attack in Jerusalem leaves at least 3 dead and 7 injured, Israeli authorities say
Two attackers fired at civilians at a bus stop in Jerusalem this morning, leaving at least 3 people dead and 7 injured, Israeli authorities said.
The attackers arrived in a vehicle and opened fire at the Givat Shaul intersection on the way out of the city, a police spokesperson said. “As a result of the terrorists’ shooting, there are a number of casualties in the arena being treated by medical personnel, among them seriously and mortally wounded,” the spokesperson added.
The attackers were "neutralized" by security forces and a civilian who was nearby, but police were scanning the area to rule out any other threats, according to the spokesperson.
Israel's emergency services said that a 24-year-old woman had been pronounced dead, and that medics were taking 8 people, including 5 in serious condition, to nearby hospitals. They later said that 2 older people had been pronounced dead, with 3 still in serious condition and 4 others injured.
Families of Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza on Wednesday met with members of the U.S. House of Representatives, with one parent of a captured Israeli soldier saying “time is running out.”
Around 240 people were abducted and taken hostage by Hamas fighters when the terror group attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Some have since been released, but approximately 145 hostages are still being held, officials said.
Ronen Neutra, whose 22-year-old Israeli-American son Omer was abducted in the Oct. 7 attacks, thanked President Biden and said “there has been some progress this week.”
“But Omer is still not with us, and the clock continues to tick — and not in our favor,” she said.
Israeli PM's office confirms truce extension, says list of names delivered
The office of Israel’s prime minister said that “Israel was given a list of women and children in accordance with the terms of the agreement” and that the pause in fighting would therefore continue.
“The War Cabinet unanimously decided last night that if a list is not delivered by seven o’clock this morning as agreed upon in the outline — fighting will be resumed immediately,” the prime minister’s office said.
In a statement a short time after 7 a.m., the prime minister’s office said a list had been given.
Hamas and Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the truce would continue for a seventh day, meaning Thursday.
Temporary pause in fighting will continue, Israel and Hamas say
A temporary cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas will be extended, officials from both sides said.
“Due to the efforts of the mediators to continue the process of releasing the abductees and in accordance with the terms of the agreement, the temporary humanitarian truce period will continue,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Thursday local time.
Hamas' Telegram channel said the pause would be extended for a seventh day, which is Thursday. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a statement that the cease-fire would be extended into Thursday "under the same previous conditions, which are a ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid, within the framework of the mediation of the State of Qatar shared with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America."
Hamas has been releasing hostages and Israel has been releasing Palestinians in Israeli jails during the pause.
U.N. secretary-general: ‘Numerous accounts of sexual violence’ during Oct. 7 Hamas attacks
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said today that there are “numerous accounts of sexual violence” during the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, which must be investigated.
In a speech to the Security Council, Guterres called the attacks by Hamas “abhorrent acts of terror.”
“Some 250 people were also abducted, including 34 children,” Guterres said. “There are also numerous accounts of sexual violence during the attacks that must be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”
“Gender-based violence must be condemned. Any time. Anywhere,” he said.
Guterres also praised the pause in the fighting under an agreement in which Hamas has released hostages, but he called for “a true humanitarian cease-fire.”
“The people of Gaza are in the midst of an epic humanitarian catastrophe before the eyes of the world,” he said. “We must not look away.”
China is ‘definitely not impartial’ in war, Israeli ambassador says
BEIJING — China is “definitely not impartial” in the Israel-Hamas war, Israel’s ambassador to China said.
Israel has previously expressed disappointment with the response to the war by China, which says it opposes any acts that harm civilians but has not explicitly condemned Hamas. Beijing has also called for a cease-fire and criticized Israel’s actions as going beyond self-defense, accusing it of inflicting “collective punishment” on the people of Gaza.
“China’s position is definitely not impartial and neutral, as they are saying,” Ambassador Irit Ben-Abba said in an interview yesterday, though she said Israel and China have generally had good relations.
She said she did not expect the Chinese position to change at today’s meeting of the U.N. Security Council, which will be hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, “but at least that they can try to be more balanced.”
Photos: Supporters welcome Israeli hostages
The Israeli hostages arrived at Ofakim army base in southern Israel early Thursday after being freed from the Gaza Strip.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Manhattan as Rockefeller tree lighting set to take place
A large crowd of people waving Palestinian flags gathered in New York City not far from where the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting ceremony was to take place.
Video showed a large police presence on Sixth Avenue at 48th Street, as well as barricades.
The demonstrators were about a block from the tree, where a lighting ceremony is set to start at 7 p.m.
Biden: ‘We remain determined to secure the release of every person’ taken by Hamas
President Biden said the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel to release hostages “has delivered meaningful results,” including humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden are “deeply gratified” that an American hostage was among those released from Gaza today and that she will be reunited with her father and three children.
“And we remain determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7, including Liat’s husband Aviv,” Biden said in a statement today.
Fuel has also been allowed into Gaza since the pause in fighting, and yesterday the U.S. airlifted more than 54,000 pounds of medical equipment and food aid to a humanitarian distribution center in Egypt, Biden said.
Biden called that “the first of three deliveries of critical supplies that will go to civilians in Gaza who need our help.”
Who was released by Hamas today?
Hamas released 10 Israeli citizens early Thursday, in addition to two Russian-Israeli citizens that were released Wednesday evening as a part of the extended cease-fire and hostage exchange deal.
The 10 Israelis are:
- Gal Tarshansky, 13
- Amit Shani, 15
- Liam Or, 18
- Itay Regev Jerbi, 18
- Ofir Engel, 17
- Yarden Roman-Gat, 35
- Moran Stela Yanai, 40
- Liat Binin Atzili, 49
- Ra’aya Rotem, 54
- Raz Ben-Ami, 56
The two Russian-Israelis are: Yelena Trupanov, 50, and Irena Tati, 73.
Netanyahu's office said four Thai nationals were also released early Thursday.