GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov  28, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - A new group
of Israeli hostages were due to be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners
under an extended truce on Tuesday as mediators worked for a lasting halt to
the devastating seven-week war.
       International figures hailed the pause in hostilities and releases of
captives as a cause for hope in the conflict sparked by deadly Hamas attacks
that prompted an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
       Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the extended pause in
incidents on Tuesday, though Qatari officials mediating in the conflict said
this did not knock the truce off track.
       As a two-day extension to the truce began Tuesday, US and Israeli
intelligence chiefs were in Doha, capital of Qatar, to discuss the "next phase"
of the deal, a source briefed on their visit said.
       Israel and Hamas are under international pressure not to return to all-out
fighting when the latest truce ends on Thursday, but instead to build on the
prisoner swaps to find a solution to the conflict.
       A source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas told AFP that 10
hostages held in Gaza would be freed in return for 30 prisoners released from
Israeli prisons on Tuesday.
       In addition to those releases, "some foreign workers held in Gaza" will
also be freed, the source told AFP.
       The truce paused fighting that began on October 7 when Hamas militants
poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and
kidnapping about 240.
       Israel's retaliatory ground and air operation in the Gaza Strip has killed
almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory's Hamas
government.
       
       - Truce violations alleged -
    
       
       Palestinian movements denounced what they dubbed "truce violations by the
occupier", and an AFP journalist saw an Israeli tank fire three times in the
Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City as Palestinians attempted to return to
their homes.
       The Israeli military described the shelling as "warning shots", saying a
tank fired as suspected militants approached army positions. At least one
person was hurt, the AFP reporter saw.
       The Israeli military meanwhile alleged that three explosive devices were
detonated near its forces in the northern Gaza strip, "violating the framework
of the operational pause".
       "In one of the locations, terrorists also opened fire at the troops, who
responded with fire. A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the
incidents," the army said, adding that its troops were positioned in compliance
with the truce agreement.
       Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told a news
conference: "There have been some minimal breaches which have been noted by
both parties but they did not harm the essence of the agreement and the
agreement is still ongoing."
       
       - 'Next phase' -
       
       Israeli bombardments since October 7 have left buildings flattened in the
Gaza Strip and residents walking through the rubble of ruined homes.
       "I hope this truce will lead to a complete ceasefire, because we are fed up
of sleeping outdoors in the rain, of losing our loved ones and having to flee,"
said Umm Mohammed, who was driven from her home in northern Gaza by the assault.
       "One day for sure I will return... and I hope that my house will be waiting
for me," she told AFP.
       Israel has vowed to stick to its war aim of destroying Hamas and rescuing
all remaining hostages.
       "The return of the hostages is a bright light for us all," Israel's army
chief Herzi Halevi said in a video released Tuesday by the military.
       The release of dozens so far "is also further evidence of the results of
significant military pressure and resolute ground operations, which created the
conditions for the return of our civilians home", he said.
       Qatari spokesman Ansari said that his government would use the extension to
work for a "sustainable truce".
       The head of the CIA and the director of Israel's Mossad spy agency were in
Qatar to discuss the Gaza truce with Qatar's prime minister, a source briefed
on their visit said, asking not to be named due to the talks' sensitivity.
       The discussions aim "to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian
pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a
potential deal," the source added.
       
       - 'Indescribable joy' -
    
       
       The latest round of exchanges on Monday night brought the total number of
people released under the truce to 50 Israeli hostages, and 150 Palestinian
prisoners, all women and minors.
       Another 19 hostages held in Gaza have been freed under separate deals since
the truce began on Friday, including Thai workers and a dual Russian-Israeli
citizen.
       Among images of the hostages released on Monday, a video released by the
Israeli military showed French-Israeli child Eitan Yahalomi reunited with his
mother, who gripped him tightly to her.
       The boy's aunt told French news channel BFMTV that his mother had said he
lived through "horrors" in captivity, including being struck by Palestinian
civilians and threatened with weapons.
       Israel's prison authority said 33 Palestinian inmates had been released in
exchange on Monday.
       In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Abu
al-Humus called his release "an indescribable joy" and kissed his mother's hand
as he entered his home.
       "I'm very happy. I hope that others will soon be released -- my friends, my
cousins."
       
       - Call for Gaza aid -
       
       Israel views the truce as a temporary measure to secure hostage releases
and says it plans to continue its military offensive against Hamas.
       "We are committed to completing these missions: freeing all of the
hostages, eliminating this terrorist organisation above and below ground,"
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video released Tuesday by
his office.
       But Israel faces increasing pressure for a more lasting ceasefire and the
ramp-up of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where an estimated 1.7 million people have
been displaced, according to the United Nations.
       The World Food Programme said it had delivered food to 121,161 people in
Gaza since Friday, but that a high risk of famine remained.
       "What we see is catastrophic," said WFP's director for the Middle East,
Corinne Fleischer.