Liberation after suspense. A second exchange between Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners took place on Saturday, November 25, after a second day of a truce that almost fell apart. Seventeen hostages, including thirteen Israelis, held in the Gaza Strip since the terrorist attacks of October 7, were finally released late in the evening, after several hours of uncertainty. The Israeli Prison Authority then announced overnight that it had released 39 Palestinian prisoners, as on Friday, under the agreement with the Islamist movement, which provides for the release of three prisoners in exchange for that of an Israeli hostage. A new exchange of Hamas hostages for Palestinian prisoners is planned for Sunday. Follow our live stream.
Delayed releases. Saturday’s releases were delayed for many hours, with Hamas accusing Israel of not respecting the terms of the agreement, but the situation was eventually resolved. Israeli army spokesman Doron Spielman spoke of a “delaying tactic” of Hamas within the framework of “psychological warfare”.
41 Israeli hostages and 78 Palestinian prisoners released. Since the start of the truce, Hamas has handed over 41 Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while Israel has released 78 Palestinian prisoners. The agreement, concluded on Wednesday under the aegis of Qatar with the support of the United States and Egypt, provides for the exchange of 50 Hamas hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners. This truce should end Tuesday morning, but could be extended.
Gaza receives humanitarian aid. Humanitarian aid trucks continue to enter the Gaza Strip by the hundreds, besieged and devastated by seven weeks of intense Israeli bombardment. A total of 248 trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Saturday, 61 of which delivered water, food and medical equipment to the north of the territory, according to the UN.