TEL AVIV, November 29. /TASS/. The fifth group of hostages released from the Gaza Strip has arrived on the territory of Israel, the press service of the Israel Defense Forces said.
"IDF Special Forces and ISA Forces are currently with the 12 released hostages. After an initial medical assessment, the released hostages will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families," the IDF press service said in a statement.
Earlier, the IDF reported that the group included 10 Israelis and two foreign citizens.
Hamas announced on November 22 that an agreement on a four-day humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip had been reached through the mediation of Qatar and Egypt. The agreement stipulates the release of 50 women and children under the age of 19 who are held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 150 women and children under the age of 19 from Israeli prisons. The ceasefire came into force in the Gaza Strip at 8:00 a.m. local time (6:00 a.m. GMT) on November 24 and the first group of hostages was released on the same day. Israel and Hamas, via mediators, reached an agreement on the extension of the ceasefire in Gaza from 7:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on November 28 for two more days.
Besides, several groups of foreigners were released outside the deal’s framework, including one resident of Israel with Russian citizenship. The release of the Russian citizen occurred off the exchange list due to the efforts of Russian diplomats in contact with the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly.
Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.