TEL AVIV, Israel-- Twelve hostages are on their way towards Israeli area and remain in Red Cross custody, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The captives include 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals, the IDF stated.
The IDF said the captives were taken through Egypt before heading to a meeting point in Kerem Shalom, in Israel. Families of the captives are being updated on the current readily available info, Israel stated.
This is a breaking news update. Below is previous coverage from The Associated Press.
A fragile truce between Israel and Hamas entered its fifth day on Tuesday, with the militant group promising to launch more captives to delay the anticipated resumption of the war and Israel under growing pressure to spare Palestinian civilians when it restores its offensive.
For the first time since the cease-fire began, Israel and Hamas traded allegations of a severe offense. The Israeli military stated three explosive devices were detonated near its troops at two places in northern Gaza, which militants at one site opened fire on the troops, who fired back. It stated its soldiers remained in positions in accordance with the regards to the truce,
Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of dedicating a "" outright breach of the ceasefire,"" activating retaliation by its fighters, without providing details. It stated in a statement that it "" was still committed to the cease-fire so long as the enemy is dedicated to it,"" and urged arbitrators to step in.
If the exchange posed a hazard to the truce, it was not right away clear. It highlighted the fragility of the truce in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces and Hamas fighters are holding their positions in close distance to each other, each preparing for a prospective resumption of battling when the cease-fire ends.
The sides agreed to extend their truce through Wednesday, with another 2 planned exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians sent to prison by Israel. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel'& #x 27; s Mossad intelligence company, remained in Qatar, a crucial mediator with Hamas, to go over extending the cease-fire and launching more hostages, a diplomat stated on condition of anonymity due to the fact that of the level of sensitivity of the talks. A U.S. authorities validated Burns remained in Qatar, speaking anonymously because the director'& #x 27; s itinerary are not publicized for security factors.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to go to the region today, likewise with an eye to extending the truce.
Hamas and other militants are still holding about 160 people, out of the 240 taken in their Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel that fired up the war. That'& #x 27; s enough to possibly extend the truce for another two weeks under the existing structure brokered by the Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., but Hamas is expected to make much greater needs for the release of captive soldiers.
Israel has actually sworn to end Hamas' & #x 27; 16-year rule in Gaza and squash its military abilities. That would almost certainly require expanding the ground offensive from northern Gaza - where whole residential areas have actually been pounded into debris - to the south, where numerous thousands of displaced individuals have loaded into overflowing United Nations shelters.
An additional 19 captives were released in separate negotiations, including 17 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli. Far, 150 Palestinians have actually been launched from Israeli jails. Israel has stated it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 extra hostages released.
The Palestinian prisoners launched up until now have actually been mainly teenagers accused of tossing stones and firebombs during conflicts with Israeli forces. Some were convicted by Israeli courts of trying to carry out deadly attacks. The detainees are extensively seen by Palestinians as heroes withstanding profession.
Most of the released hostages seemed physically well, but an 84-year-old woman released Sunday was hospitalized in crucial condition because she had not had access to her medication in captivity. They have actually mainly stayed out of the public eye, but information of their captivity have begun to emerge.
In among the first interviews with a freed hostage, 78-year-old Ruti Munder told Israel'& #x 27; s Channel 13 television that she was at first fed well in captivity but that conditions aggravated as scarcities took hold. She said she was kept in a "" suffocating"" space and slept on plastic chairs with a sheet for almost 50 days.
Israel imposed a siege on Gaza at the start of the war and had only enabled a drip of humanitarian help to get in prior to the cease-fire, resulting in widespread shortages of food, fuel, medication and water to power generators amidst a territory-wide power blackout.
NORTHERN GAZA IN RUINS
The cease-fire has actually permitted homeowners who stayed in Gaza City and other parts of the north to venture out to try and survey the damage to find and bury loved ones. Video from northern Gaza, the focus of the Israeli ground offensive, shows almost every building damaged or destroyed.
A U.N.-led help consortium estimates that over 234,000 homes have been damaged across Gaza and 46,000 have been entirely damaged, amounting to around 60% of the housing stock in the area, which is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians. In the north, the damage of homes and civilian infrastructure "" severely compromises the ability to satisfy fundamental requirements to sustain life,"" it said.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have actually been eliminated since the war started, roughly two-thirds of them minors and women, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate in between civilians and contenders. More than 1,200 people have actually been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians eliminated in the preliminary attack.
Israeli soldiers have actually barred people from returning to the north during the cease-fire.
Numerous countless people have packed into Other facilities and u.n.-run schools, with many required to sleep on the streets outside because of overcrowding. It'& #x 27; s uncertain where they would go if Israel broadens its ground operation, as Egypt has contradicted refugees and Israel has sealed its border.
The U.N. says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of medicine, water and food to the biggest volume since the start of the war, and to bring in desperately required fuel for homes, healthcare facilities and water treatment plants. However the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza was importing before the battling, even as humanitarian needs have skyrocketed.
Four days into the truce, citizens were still awaiting hours to purchase gas and cooking fuel.
Juliette Toma, a representative for the U.N. firm for Palestinian refugees, said individuals come to shelters asking for heavy clothing, blankets and bed mattress, which some are oversleeping damaged automobiles.
"" The requirements are frustrating,"" she informed The Associated Press. "" They lost whatever, and they require everything."".
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller in
Washington, Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates added to this report.
RELATED: 11 more captives launched in exchange for 33 Palestinians, Qatari authorities say.
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