Truce in Gaza extended at last minute

FE Team | Published: November 30, 2023 21:42:37

JERUSALEM, Nov 30 (AP/BBC/Reuters): Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed to extend their cease-fire by another day, just minutes before it was set to expire. The truce in Gaza appeared increasingly tenuous as most women and children held by the militants have already been released in swaps for Palestinian prisoners.
As word of the extension came Thursday morning, gunmen opened fire on people waiting for buses where a main highway from Tel Aviv enters Jerusalem, killing at least two people and wounding seven others, according to police and Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service.
Police said the two attackers were killed. It was unclear if the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant group or individuals acting on their own, or if it would have any impact on the truce in Gaza.
International pressure has mounted for the cease-fire to continue as long as possible after nearly eight weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground campaign in Gaza that have killed thousands of Palestinians, uprooted three quarters of the population of 2.3 million and led to a humanitarian crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel late Wednesday on his third trip to the region since the start of the war, and is expected to press for further extensions of the truce and the release of more hostages.
Qatar, which has played a key role in mediating with Hamas, said the truce was being extended under the same terms as in the past, with Hamas releasing 10 Israeli hostages per day in exchange for Israel's release of 30 Palestinian prisoners.
The announcement followed a last-minute standoff, with Hamas saying Israel had rejected a proposed list that included seven living captives and the remains of three who the group said were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israel later said Hamas submitted an improved list, paving the way for the extension.
The talks appear to be growing tougher, with Hamas having already freed most of the women and children captured during the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war. The militants are expected to make greater demands in return for freeing men and soldiers.
Israel says it will maintain the truce until Hamas stops releasing captives, at which point it will resume its offensive aimed at eliminating the group. With Israeli troops holding much of northern Gaza, a ground invasion south - where most of Gaza's population is now concentrated - will likely bring an escalating cost in Palestinian lives and destruction.
The Biden administration has told Israel that if it launches an offensive in the south, it must operate with far greater precision.
The plight of the captives and shock from Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel have galvanized Israeli support for the war. But Netanyahu is under pressure to bring the hostages home and could find it difficult to resume the offensive if there's a prospect of more releases.
Three killed and 16 injured
in Jerusalem shooting
Security measures have been ramped up in Jerusalem after the shooting earlier which killed three people and injured 16 others, Israeli police have said. Of those injured, three are in serious condition and the rest suffered "various degrees of injuries (including victims of shock)", a police spokesperson said.
Police say the attack was carried out by "two armed terrorists, brothers in their 30s from the Zur Baher neighbourhood in East Jerusalem" at around 07:40 local time. The attackers "shot at civilians at bus and shuttle stations, using an M-16 rifle and a handgun".
The "immediate response" of two off-duty Israeli soldiers and a civilian near the scene of the attack led to the "neutralization and elimination of the two terrorists" before police arrived, a spokesperson said.
The police say they have further reinforced "current security measures in the city, including adding patrols, improvised roadblocks, and checking suspects" after the attack. Officials are launching an investigation into the attack, the spokesperson added.
UN commission to investigate
Hamas sexual violence
A UN commission of inquiry investigating war crimes on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict will focus on sexual violence by Hamas in the Oct 7 attacks on Israel and is about to launch an appeal for evidence, its chair told Reuters on Wednesday.
Chair Navi Pillay on Wednesday said she would pass the evidence onto the International Criminal Court and called for it to consider prosecutions amid earlier criticism from Israel and families of Israeli hostages that the UN had kept quiet.
"I'm now sitting as chair of a commission with the power to investigate this. So there's no way we will not do so," said Pillay, chair of the three-member commission of inquiry into abuses committed in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Already, she said some people are keen to provide testimonies and that these would be handed over to prosecutors.