As the truce between Israel and Hamas enters its fifth day, more hostages and Palestinian prisoners are scheduled to be released on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Palestinian group released 11 Israelis, bringing the total number of released hostages to 69, including foreign nationals.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration claimed on Monday that Hamas had handed over a list of Israeli hostages to be released on Tuesday as part of an expanded truce agreement.
The list of hostages is currently being reviewed and notices are being delivered at this time to the families of those set to be freed.
Israel has so far released 150 Palestinians, mostly women and minors, from prisons. On Monday evening, the government approved a list of 50 Palestinian female jailers for early release. The number of Palestinian prisoners selected for possible early release under the agreement has reached 350.
One of those released is prominent activist Ahed Tamimi, who was arrested three weeks ago for a provocative social media post. She rose to fame after being jailed as a teenager for slapping an Israeli soldier. Tamimi served an eight-month sentence in an Israeli prison and after her release went on a victory tour, travelling around Europe and the Middle East, The Times of Israel reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss maintaining aid flows to Gaza and the release of all hostages. Blinken may also discuss US proposals for the future of the Strip and the need for an independent Palestinian state.
The original truce agreement allowed more aid trucks to enter Gaza.
