Israel says it received new list of hostages to be released

The Israeli government said it received a new list of women and children hostages in the Gaza Strip to be released by Hamas on Thursday in exchange for a one-day extension of the truce.

“A short time ago, Israel was given a list of women and children in accordance with the terms of the agreement, and therefore the truce will continue,” said the statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, without specifying the number of hostages to be released.

The truce, initially agreed last Friday, has brought a temporary halt to fighting for an exchange of hostages and prisoners.

The total number of freed hostages stands at 102 people, including 70 Israelis, from around 240 taken to the Gaza Strip after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attacks when militants crossed the border and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Israel’s subsequent air and ground campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas officials, and reduced large parts of the north of the territory to rubble.

Israel has released 210 Palestinian prisoners.

— AFP