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Middle East conflict

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Hamas says Israel refused to take bodies of three Israeli hostages

They were killed in a bombardment of the Gaza Strip

CAIRO, November 30. /TASS/. Hamas has said that Israel refused to take the bodies of three Israelis who were killed in a bombardment of the Gaza Strip while they were being held hostage there.

Hamas made the statement in a caption to a video of one of the hostages that it posted on Telegram. The caption said, "His wife and two children were killed in an attack by Israeli warplanes."

The Palestinian resistance "offered to hand over the bodies of the three killed people [to Israel], but the [Israeli] occupation authorities refused to take them and continue to stall and bargain," Hamas said.

Al Hadath television reported earlier that Hamas planned to release six hostages from the Gaza Strip and hand over the bodies of three Israelis by the end of Thursday. Still earlier, radical groups in Gaza had released two female hostages, and they already returned to Israel.

Hamas earlier published the names of 30 prisoners that Israel will release by the end of Thursday under a deal to swap them for hostages held by radical groups in the Gaza Strip. The list includes eight women and 22 teenagers. It’s the seventh group of prisoners to be freed by Israel under the truce deal with Hamas.

Hamas said on November 22 it had reached an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Qatar and Egypt, to introduce a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for four days. The truce started on November 24. The agreement involves the release of women and children under the age of 19 that are held in the enclave in exchange for the release of women and children under the age of 19 from Israeli prisons. On November 27, the sides agreed to extend the truce for two more days based on the same terms as before, meaning three Palestinian prisoners will be freed every day in exchange for each released Israeli hostage. On November 30, it was announced that the truce was extended by one more day.

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Palestine Israel

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