Egyptian media: provisional agreement on two-day extension of truce
Israel and Hamas have reached a preliminary agreement to extend their truce, which expired on Monday and was then extended until Wednesday, for two more days. That reports the Egyptian newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed based on Egyptian officials. Egypt, like Qatar and the US, is closely involved in mediations between the two warring parties.
The conditions surrounding the extension of the truce are the same as in recent days: Hamas releases ten Israeli hostages for every day of extension, and Israel releases three Palestinian prisoners for every hostage released. Both parties only allow women and children to go. In addition, there is a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza.
Israel launches full-scale attack on Jenin
Israeli forces launched an attack on the town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday. According to Al Jazeera a drone attack was carried out on a house and dozens of arrests were made both in the refugee camp in Jenin and in houses outside it.
According to the channel, the Israeli army has surrounded several hospitals in Jenin, something confirmed by Christos Christou, the international chairman of Doctors Without Borders, who was at a hospital in the town when Israeli forces raided. According to Christou injured patients cannot reach the hospital and ambulances are prevented from leaving.
So far, five people have been injured in the attack. According to Al Jazeera, the Israeli military may be looking for wounded Palestinian fighters, especially as Jenin is considered a center of Palestinian armed resistance. Palestinian fighters reportedly fired back during Israel’s attack on Tuesday.
G7 countries welcome pause in fighting, support two-state solution
The G7 countries, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, spoke out on Tuesday on the war in Gaza. In a statement the countries write to support the current pause in fighting. “Every effort must be made to ensure humanitarian assistance for civilians,” the G7 said. “We support the further extension of this pause and future pauses as necessary to scale up assistance and facilitate the release of all hostages.”
While the group emphasizes that Israel has the right “to defend itself and its people,” it also emphasizes that “the protection of civilians and compliance with international law” is of great importance. The G7 also says it is committed to a two-state solution, with Palestine and Israel as two independent states.