New releases, resumption of surveillance operations… What should we expect from the second day of the fragile truce between Hamas and Israel?

New hostages are expected to be released by Hamas on the second day of the ceasefire, before the Israeli army resumes its drone surveillance operations.

Thirteen of them were released on Friday November 24 by Hamas. Thirteen hostages, held by the Islamist organization since the October 7 massacres, exchanged for 39 Palestinian prisoners on the first day of the truce concluded between Israel and Hamas, long awaited by humanitarian organizations and the Gazan civilian population.

On the second day of this cessation of fighting, the balance remains very fragile, but new hostages must be released today. Friday evening, Israeli authorities received from Hamas a new list of hostages available for release.

Everyone has an interest in preserving the ceasefire for the moment

Although the situation is precarious, the ceasefire still holds. Everyone is respecting their commitments for the moment, even if the weapons on both sides are not very far away. Hamas says it keeps its finger on the trigger and Israel assures that this cessation of fighting is temporary and that the war will resume.

However, despite the threats, each side seems to have an interest in not resuming hostilities for the moment. Benyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, is under strong pressure from public opinion and from the hostage families, who have been mobilized since day one and who are starting to see that it is paying off. As for Hamas, it was celebrated yesterday in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, with large crowds coming to welcome the released prisoners and thank the Islamist group.

We must also expect the release of other Thai workers today. Around fifteen of them are still in the hands of Hamas. These exchanges of hostages and prisoners should take place before 4 p.m. The Israeli army’s drone surveillance operations must in fact resume at that time, and Hamas has no interest in letting the Jewish state discover the places of detention of the hostages.

The return of all the hostages is still a goal for Netanyahu

The former hostages released on Friday are currently with their loved ones, under observation in hospitals, at least until Sunday. They crossed the border between Gaza and Egypt late yesterday afternoon in Jeeps belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross, then they got into a white minibus with eleven other hostages, ten Thais and a Filipino, to reach Israeli territory via another crossing point further south.

Two of these 24 people were directly hospitalized. The others passed through a military base 30 kilometers east of Gaza. The adults were debriefed by intelligence before joining the six hospitals specially designed to accommodate them since the start of the war.

There are still more than 210 hostages in Hamas hands, some possibly dead after more than six weeks of intense bombardment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke last night, recalling that one of the objectives of the war was the return of all the hostages.

For his part, while no French were among the thirteen hostages released on Friday, Emmanuel Macron once again affirmed his “determination” to obtain the release of the French hostages.