Africa-Press – Mauritius. Halfway through a four-day pause in fighting that so far has brought two swaps of hostages and prisoners, Israeli leaders faced a dilemma over whether to restart the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip once the truce ends on Tuesday morning.
Early Sunday morning, Israel said it had received 13 Israeli hostages — eight children and five women — and four Thai nationals who had been held in Gaza, and had in turn released 39 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Watsana Yojampa had been waiting by the telephone for nearly two months, wondering whether she would get good news — or the worst possible message that a mother could hear.
Soon after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in the Gaza Strip, Ms. Watsana’s son, Anucha Angkaew, appeared in a photograph that circulated on social media showing him with three other men being held at gunpoint, hands behind their backs.
Perhaps the most well-known name on the list of 39 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released from an Israeli jail early Sunday was Israa Jaabees, who was accused of attempted murder by Israel and had been in jail since 2015.
She was arrested that year after her car exploded at a checkpoint near Jerusalem in the West Bank, leaving her disfigured and an Israeli police officer seriously injured. Hamas released a second group of 13 Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of a cease-fire deal, a day after it released another 13.
Saturday’s group of Israelis — all women and children — included six members of an extended family from the ravaged Israeli border village of Be’eri, all of whom were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel.
Hamas released a second group of 13 Israeli hostages on Saturday as part of a cease-fire deal, a day after it released another 13. Saturday’s group of Israelis — all women and children — included six members of an extended family from the ravaged Israeli border village of Be’eri, all of whom were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel.
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