Fire Red Extended Rom Hack

[Eleanor Heidecker]

Footagereleased by the military wing of Hamas, the Al Qassam Brigades, on Monday showed the fourth group of hostages being handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past Monday.

The White House on Monday welcomed the extension of the Israel-Hamas truce for another two days, raising the prospect of a longer halt to the deadly and destructive war and further exchanges of hostages. (Nov. 27)

Released Palestinian prisoners arrive in the West Bank town of Ramallah Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023. Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in east Jerusalem and Ramallah. Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by Hamas, entered Israel Monday night in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began Friday and had been due to run out. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

An Israeli helicopter transporting released hostages lands at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023. Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by Hamas, entered Israel Monday night in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began Friday and had been due to run out. Qatar said Israel was to release 33 Palestinians from its prisons, mostly teenagers. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Released Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Abu Al-Humus, 17, hugs his mother after arriving home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023. Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by Hamas, entered Israel Monday night in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began Friday and had been due to run out. Qatar said Israel was to release 33 Palestinians from its prisons, mostly teenagers. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

This handout photo provided by the IDF on Monday Nov. 27, 2023, released Israeli hostages Tal Goldstein Almog, 9, left, and his brother Gal, 11 are seen as they return to Israel in an IAF helicopter, after being held hostage by militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (IDF via AP)

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip enter a makeshift tent near al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. on the fourth day of the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Egyptian ambulances drivers, carrying bodies of Palestinians who died at Egyptian hospital after injuries from the war in Gaza, wait to cross Rafah crossing port, Egypt, on the way to Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

This undated photo provided by Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters shows Sharon Aloni Cunio, center, and her twin daughters, Emma and Yuli, 3 years-old, released Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, to Israel after 52 days in Hamas captivity. Cunio, 34, is the personal advisor for the Head of Ashkol Regional Council. Her husband, David, and his brother Ariel remain in Hamas captivity. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters via AP)

Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by Hamas, entered Israel Monday night after more than seven weeks in captivity in Gaza in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began Friday and was due to run out. Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in east Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah. The prisoners were greeted by loud cheers as their bus made its way through the streets of Ramallah.

The deal for two additional days of cease-fire, announced by Qatar, raised hopes for further extensions, which also allow more aid into Gaza. Conditions there have remained dire for 2.3 million Palestinians, battered by weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground offensive that have driven three-quarters of the population from their homes.

After weeks of national trauma over the roughly 240 people abducted by Hamas and other militants, scenes of the women and children reuniting with families have rallied Israelis behind calls to return those who remain in captivity.

Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for two and a half weeks. But those include a number of soldiers, and Hamas is likely to make much greater demands for their release.

The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces, or of less-serious offenses. But some were convicted in alleged attempts to carry out stabbings, bombings and shootings. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation.

Merav Raviv, who is related to three hostages released Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and lost weight. One reported eating mainly bread and rice and sleeping on a makeshift bed of chairs pushed together. Hostages sometimes had to wait for hours to use the bathroom, she said.

Footage showed a complex of several dozen multistory residential buildings that had been pummeled into a landscape of wreckage in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. Nearly every building was destroyed or severely damaged, some reduced to concrete frames half-slumped over. At a nearby U.N. school, the buildings were intact but partially burned and riddled with holes.

Rain and wind added to the hardship of displaced Palestinians sheltering in the compound of Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza. Palestinians in coats baked flatbreads over a makeshift fire among tents set up on the muddy grounds.

The U.N. says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared.

Long lines formed outside stations distributing cooking fuel, allowed in for the first time. Fuel for generators has been brought for key service providers, including hospitals and water and sanitation facilities, but bakeries have been unable to resume work, the U.N. said.

An extended coverage (EC) endorsement to a standard fire policy adds coverage for the following perils: windstorm, hail, explosion (except of steam boilers), riot, civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, and smoke.

"The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said on social media.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, also confirmed the two-day extension during a news briefing Monday, saying Hamas has agreed to release 20 additional hostages over the next two days. Kirby said they are working to further extend the cease-fire as well.

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