Israel: ‘no permanent ceasefire’ – NRC

Israel releases thirty Palestinians

Israel has released thirty Palestinian prisoners, the Israeli Prison Service reports. It is the sixth release under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. According to this agreement, Hamas released fourteen Israeli prisoners on Wednesday evening.

The release of the Palestinians took longer than expected. According to Al Jazeera, this was related to fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinian militants in Beitunia in the West Bank, where one of the prisons from which prisoners were released is located.

Blinken in Israel for consultations with Israelis and Palestinians

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Tel Aviv for his third visit since October 7. He will meet with Israeli leaders to discuss further hostage and prisoner exchanges between Hamas and Israel, as well as an expansion of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

According to reports, Blinken will also push for an extended ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The United States has also called on Israel to reduce the combat zone and clarify where Palestinian civilians can seek safety should the Israeli army expand its offensive into southern Gaza.

Blinken will also visit the occupied West Bank and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during this trip.

Israel: ‘no permanent ceasefire’

Israel has rejected calls for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza war. “Anyone who supports a ceasefire is in fact supporting Hamas’ continued reign of terror in Gaza,” said Israel’s UN Ambassador to the UN Security Council Gilad Erdan.

According to Israel, Hamas is not a reliable partner for a peace agreement. “Hamas has publicly stated that it will repeat the October 7 attack again and again until Israel is gone,” Erdan said. The Israeli ambassador stated that an end to the violence can only come if Hamas releases all hostages and hands over everyone involved in the October 7 attack.

Family of released Israeli-Dutch Ofir Engel relieved

The family of 18-year-old Ofir Engel, the Israeli-Dutch hostage released by Hamas yesterday, has welcomed his release. “I haven’t seen him yet, but I heard that he can walk on his own. I hope he is healthy,” his grandfather Jucha Engel told the ANP news agency. Engel is taken with his parents to a hospital near Tel Aviv to check his health.

Engel was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 from Kibbutz Be’eri near Jerusalem. Shortly afterwards, he was granted Dutch nationality through an emergency procedure, with the intention of increasing the chance of release.