Israel and Hamas at war, day 17 | Two hostages released, more to come?

The release of two hostages held by Hamas on Monday gave hope to families, while US President Joe Biden sets a condition sine qua non the release of all those detained before the negotiation of a ceasefire. The ground invasion of Gaza is still pending, with doubts beginning to emerge among the Americans about their Hebrew ally’s plan once it enters the enclave.

(Rafah) Two octogenarians released

The two freed women, octogenarians of Israeli nationality, are from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Yocheved Lifshitz and Nourit Kuper were taken hostage with their husbands during the bloody Hamas attack on October 7.

The spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, Abou Obeida, said they had been released “for pressing humanitarian reasons” thanks to mediation by Qatar and Egypt.

Facilitated by the intervention of the Red Cross, the evacuation of the two women took place aboard an ambulance to Egypt, via the Rafah border post, while their husbands were still held in the strip. Gaza, the Israeli army said. The grandson of one of them, Daniel Lifshitz, said he hoped that “this is only the beginning of the release of all those still detained”.

Citing sources in the Gaza Strip, the i24News channel reported Monday that an agreement would be in place to release around fifty Israeli hostages who also have another nationality. Hamas’ demands for fuel and humanitarian aid, however, would delay the talks, which are still taking place under Qatari supervision.

A Hamas strategy

But where does this sudden opening of Hamas to free its hostages come from? From the pressure of the Palestinian people, exhausted by the last two weeks of the conflict, estimates Fabio Merone, associate fellow at the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Africa and the Middle East at Laval University.

“People, at a certain point, can no longer stand the siege, the lack of food, the bombings. So they are going to put pressure on Hamas to make concessions, that has always been the case,” explains the man who regularly consults the Arab media.

The group’s goal is twofold, he says. Bring more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, but also create divisions in the opposing camp, either among the Israeli population or between the Jewish state and its American ally.

Hence the inflammatory statements made by Hamas spokesperson Abou Obeida after the release of two American hostages last Friday, he recalls. He then claimed to have offered Israel the release of two Israeli hostages without return in return, which the Jewish state would have refused. Allegations denied by Israel, for whom the issue has however turned into a “hot potato”.

The condition for a ceasefire

Around 220 hostages, all ages and nationalities, are still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden set a condition for their release with a view to talks for the entry into force of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. “The hostages must be released, then we can talk,” he declared from the White House.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights still called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza on Monday, calling on leaders to make “courageous choices”.

“The first step must be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, saving civilian lives through the delivery of rapid and effective humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Volker Türk said in a statement.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, meanwhile, told his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on Monday that “all countries” have the right to defend themselves, in the first call between the two nations’ top diplomats since the conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7.

China has also not explicitly condemned the Hamas attack.

Washington said it hoped that Beijing’s friendship with Iran, a supporter of Hamas, could ease the conflict, especially since China sponsored the spectacular agreement in March to restore diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. .

Beijing has reiterated its position that only a two-state solution can end the conflict.

A bloody night, a “catastrophic” situation

But far from calming down, the bombardment of Gaza has instead intensified with around 400 people reportedly losing their lives in the last 24 hours due to airstrikes, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.

Six employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) were killed, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced Monday evening. This brings to 35 the number of UNRWA personnel killed since the war began on October 7.

On Monday, a new convoy of 20 trucks was able to cross the Rafah border crossing, the only access to the enclave which is not controlled by Israel. The humanitarian situation there is described as “catastrophic” by the UN, in the context where around 1.4 million Palestinians have fled their homes out of a population of just over 2 million inhabitants.

Since the start of the conflict on October 7, no fuel has been able to be transported into Gaza, raising fears of a lack of drinking water and care for the injured.

Doubts of the Americans

Meanwhile, doubts are beginning to emerge within the Pentagon about the level of preparedness of Israeli troops for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to reports New York TimesMonday.

The Biden administration would be particularly concerned by the lack of a clear military objective for the Israeli army to achieve the goal of its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of eradicating Hamas.

Citing senior Israeli officials on condition of anonymity, the daily Maariv claimed Sunday that Benjamin Netanyahu and his generals would disagree on the date of the launch of the expected ground invasion, which the office of the principal interested party denied.

Still according to the daily, the Israeli leader would like to delay it as long as there is a possibility of freeing the hostages still captive in the Gaza Strip, the latter affirming that the “initial phase” of the Israeli offensive, with the airstrikes, was “not yet exhausted”.

With Agence France-Presse, The New York Times, The GuardianCNN, NBC, HaaretzReuters and the Associated Press