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The truce between Israel and Hamas entered a fifth day today after both sides agreed to extend the pause in fighting to allow for the release of more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. CIA Director William Burns is in Qatar for talks aimed at a further extension and a broader hostage deal.
Hamas and Israel’s military accused each other of the first limited violations of the truce in northern Gaza this morning. Aid has continued to flow into the besieged Gaza Strip under protection of the cease-fire, including much-needed fuel, but the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave “remains catastrophic,” a senior United Nations official warned.
The U.S. says it has urged Israel that any offensive in southern Gaza after the truce must be designed to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians, who have been suffering for weeks in the south as supplies of food, water and medicine run low amid Israeli bombardment while the military campaign against Hamas was centered on the north.
G7 urges release of all hostages and facilitated departure of foreign nationals
WASHINGTON — The G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the U.S., as well as the High Representative of the European Union, are calling for the unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and the facilitated departure of foreign nationals from Gaza, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of State.
The G7 also said it supports the further extension of the current pause in fighting.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to work with all partners in the region to prevent the conflict from escalating further,” the statement said.
30 U.N. installations have been 'directly hit' in Gaza, report says
The United Nations said in a report yesterday that it has confirmed that at least 30 of its installations throughout Gaza have been "directly hit" and more than 50 have sustained collateral damage.
In its situational report, the international entity also noted that it has received reports that locations have been subjected to military use at least five times, though it did not specify who used the facilities or why.
The U.N. has used the pause in hostilities to distribute essential aid, offer medical care and obtain information about its facilities on the ground in Gaza.
It says it has seen more than 600,000 patients, including hundreds of pregnant Palestinians and children.
Sharone Lifschitz's mother was released by Hamas last month, but her father is still being held hostage inside Gaza.
Humanitarian needs still going unmet during cease-fire, Save the Children says
Even with a temporary pause in active hostilities, the flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza has been restricted, Save the Children said in a statement yesterday.
Two additional days of the pause are still not enough to meet the needs of civilians living in dire conditions, according to the charity organization.
Jason Lee, Save the Children's director in the occupied Palestinian territory, said Palestinians waited in long lines for essentials such as cooking gas and water only to need to return in a few days when hostilities resume.
"People who have survived 50 days of relentless bombardment in Gaza are surrounded by destruction and left with nothing," Lee said. "Children are hungry, thirsty and at risk of disease."
Thailand welcomes release of 2 more hostages
The Thai foreign minister welcomed the release today of two more Thai hostages held by Hamas.
“Happy to personally welcome 2 additional Thai hostages just released and arrived at the hospital in Tel Aviv,” Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, who is in Israel, said in a post on X.
Migrant workers from Thailand, one of Israel’s biggest sources of foreign labor, were the single largest group of foreigners among the estimated 240 hostages seized by Hamas. The two hostages today bring the total number of Thai nationals released to 19, with 13 others still being held.
“A totally warm feeling to see how the former 17 were lining up to welcome and give moral support to the two newcomers,” Parnpree added.
Hundreds gather to support family still in captivity, including 2 young boys
TEL AVIV — At what is now known as Hostage Square, just outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, a few hundred people gathered tonight to support the Bibas family. Yarden and his wife, Shiri, were kidnapped by Hamas from the Nir Oz kibbutz on Oct. 7, along with their two boys — 4-year-old Ariel and Kfir, now 10 months old.
"These two young little redheads really got in the hearts of everybody in Israel and also in the entire world,” said Yarden’s sister, Ofri. She called the last seven weeks a “nightmare.”
The crowd released orange balloons to evoke the boys’ red hair and as a symbol of the liberation the family of four has been denied for the past 53 days.
Some of the attendees, including people from the Bibases’ kibbutz, wore T-shirts with a picture of the family. The word “kidnapped” was stamped in bold letters above the photo.
Ofri hoped the gathering would help push for an extension to the cease-fire, which is due to expire tomorrow, so her family can come home. “It’s like a shot in the chest every time that their names are not in the [hostage release] list,” she said.
Inside Gaza during the cease-fire
TEL AVIV — The cease-fire in Gaza, which is set to end tomorrow, is offering a brief respite from seven weeks of Israeli bombing in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Inside Gaza, residents are taking stock of the devastation — and bracing for the return of fighting.
Turkey plans field hospitals in Gaza
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s health minister said today that his country hopes to soon set up field hospitals and start providing health services in Gaza.
Fahrettin Koca made the announcement on X hours after a Turkish delegation crossed into Gaza from Egypt to inspect possible sites for field hospitals. He did not provide additional information.
Turkey dispatched a ship carrying medical equipment and supplies, including ambulances and eight field hospitals, to Egypt this month.
Hamas senior official invites Elon Musk to visit Gaza
A Hamas senior official invited U.S. billionaire Elon Musk today to visit the Palestinian Gaza Strip to see the extent of destruction caused by the Israeli bombardment.
“We invite him to visit Gaza to see the extent of the massacres and destruction committed against the people of Gaza, in compliance with the standards of objectivity and credibility,” Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan said at a news conference in Beirut.
Musk, the social media mogul assailed for his endorsement of an anti-Jewish post, toured the site of the Hamas assault on Israel yesterday and declared his commitment to do whatever was necessary to stop the spread of hatred.
Hamdan spoke one day after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for an additional 48 hours.
Islamic Jihad says it handed over hostages in exchange deal
In a statement on Telegram, Palestinian Islamic Jihad said that as part of the hostage deal it has handed over "a number" of people it was holding.
The group did not specify how many civilians it had released or how many hostages remained in its custody. Hamas said in a Telegram post today that Palestinian Islamic Jihad was part of the release of hostages.
NBC News was not able to independently verify the claims.
Hamas has said it does not have custody of all the hostages, claiming that the whereabouts of roughly 100 are unknown. A diplomat with knowledge of the hostage talks previously said Hamas had alleged that "some Israelis were kidnapped by individual Palestinian gangs or smugglers."
