Hamas to release more hostages today

Lebanon's army is not moving fast enough to prevent a return of the Hezbollah militia. Against this backdrop, the new US administration has now spoken out in favor of extending the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which was initially agreed for 60 days, beyond the deadline set on Sunday. The militia had previously warned against delaying the Israeli withdrawal. This would be a breach of the agreement.

Meanwhile, Israel once again called on the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to cease its work in Jerusalem at the end of the month. UNRWA is "obliged to cease its activities in Jerusalem and vacate all premises in which it operates in the city by January 30, 2025 at the latest," demanded Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon in a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The letter was obtained by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. This could make it difficult or even impossible for the aid organization to supply the civilian population in devastated Gaza or the West Bank.

UN aid organization must leave Jerusalem

Israel accuses the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency that some of its employees have been involved in Hamas terror activities. From now on, Israel wants to ensure humanitarian aid for Gaza through other organizations.

Meanwhile, the Islamist Hamas has sent Israel a list of the names of the hostages to be released today, as confirmed by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The hostages are female soldiers who have been held in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months. In exchange for the hostages, more than 100 Palestinian prisoners are likely to be released from Israeli jails on the same day.

Reports: hostages to be released are scouts

According to media reports, the female soldiers who are to be released today are scouts. They were kidnapped alive from the Nachal Oz military base on October 7, 2023, along with three other female scouts, when terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups began their terror attack in Israel and caused a massacre. One of the abducted female soldiers was rescued after 23 days, another was murdered in captivity.

According to media reports, scouts on the border with the Gaza Strip had repeatedly warned of suspicious events in the coastal strip before the Hamas attack, to no avail. Around 1,200 people were killed in the attack and more than 250 were taken hostage. It triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, where more than 47,100 people have since been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.

According to the ceasefire agreement, a civilian woman who was still alive should have been released before the soldiers. According to media reports, the woman is being held captive by a group of the Hamas-aligned Palestinian Islamic Jihad and has not yet been taken over by Hamas. However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided not to allow the release of the hostages planned for today to fail because of this rather minor violation of the ceasefire agreement, reported the Times of Israel.

Return of displaced persons to northern Gaza to begin

Last weekend, Hamas handed over the first list of hostages late, delaying the start of the six-week ceasefire on Sunday by hours. At that time, three abducted Israeli civilians were released. In exchange, Israel released 90 Palestinians from prison. According to media reports, Hamas undertook to provide Israel with information on the condition of the remaining hostages today. A total of 33 hostages are to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. According to the Israeli news website "ynet", eight of them are no longer alive.

According to the agreement, Israel is to allow displaced Palestinians to return on foot from the south of the sealed-off coastal strip to their homes in the destroyed north from today. According to the Wall Street Journal, two US security firms and a security firm affiliated with the Egyptian secret service are to check the returnees for weapons. The security firms are to check the Netzarim corridor, which divides the Gaza Strip south of Gaza City into two halves.

Will the ceasefire in Lebanon be extended?

The USA, together with Qatar and Egypt, had been mediating between Israel and Hamas for months until a breakthrough for the ceasefire was finally achieved. The USA is also part of a group of countries tasked with monitoring compliance with the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon at the end of November. According to the agreement, Israel's army was supposed to withdraw by Sunday. Hezbollah, in turn, is to withdraw behind the Litani River, around 30 kilometers north of the Lebanese border. Lebanon's army is to monitor compliance with the deal and prevent the militia from returning.

However, Lebanon has not yet fully implemented its part of the agreement, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The agreement is formulated in such a way that an extension for the withdrawal of the Israeli army is possible. All parties share the goal of ensuring that Hezbollah does not continue to threaten the Lebanese people or its neighbors, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council told the German Press Agency. A brief, temporary extension of the ceasefire was therefore "urgently needed." The White House is working with partners in the region to achieve an extension.