Hamas frees 16 more hostages as mediators push for truce extension, Israel confirms

Israel released another group of Palestinian prisoners early Thursday in exchange for 16 hostages freed hours earlier by the militant group Hamas in Gaza. The releases came on the sixth day of a temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas war.

The latest swap comes as international mediators raced to seal another extension to allow further exchanges and prolong the halt of Israel's air and ground offensive in the besieged enclave.

A bus carrying some of the Palestinian detainees was seen arriving in the West Bank city of Ramallah before dawn. Most prominent among those freed was Ahed Tamimi, a 22-year-old activist who gained worldwide fame in 2017 after a video of her slapping an Israeli soldier went viral on social media.

The Israel Prison Service said early on Thursday local time it had freed 30 Palestinians from Israeli jails, as had been expected. The Palestinians were released from prison facilities in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the prison service said in a statement.

Hamas released 16 hostages late Wednesday. The Israeli military said a group of 10 Israeli women and children and four Thai nationals have been returned to Israel, where they were being taken to hospitals to be reunited with their families. Earlier, two Russian-Israeli women were freed by Hamas in a separate release.

Negotiators were working down to the wire to hammer out details for a further extension of the truce beyond its deadline of early Thursday. The talks appeared to be growing tougher as most of the women and children held by Hamas are freed, and the militants are expected to seek greater releases in return for freeing men and soldiers.

Citing Israeli officials, Israeli media reported that the military would resume the attack on Gaza at 7 a.m. local time Thursday if the government did not receive a list of hostages to be released that met its criteria by that time.

Israel, according to the reports, is demanding that at least 10 hostages be released on Thursday and that women and children be prioritized.

Pressure to extend truce

International pressure has mounted for the truce to continue as long as possible after nearly eight weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground campaign in Gaza that has killed thousands of Palestinians, uprooted three-quarters of the population of 2.3 million and led to a humanitarian crisis.

In a social media post, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named the two Russian Israeli hostages who were freed on Wednesday as Yelena Trupanov, 50, and Irena Tati, 73.

And in a followup post later on, the office listed the names of the 10 newly freed Israeli citizens as:

• Gal Tarshansky, 13.
• Amit Shani, 15.
• Liam Or, 18.
• Itay Regev Jerbi, 18.
• Ofir Engel, 17.
• Yarden Roman-Gat, 35.
• Moran Stela Yanai, 40.
• Liat Binin Atzili, 49.
• Ra'aya Rotem, 54.
• Raz Ben-Ami, 56.

A return to war?

Hamas fighters took some 240 people hostage during a rampage into southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed, including several Canadians. Israel's bombardment of Gaza in retaliation has killed more than 15,000 Gazans, according to health authorities in the Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu underscored on Wednesday that Israel will resume its campaign to eliminate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years and orchestrated the deadly attack on Israel that triggered the war.

"After this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted, will Israel return to fighting?" asked Netanyahu. "My answer is an unequivocal yes. There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end."

He spoke ahead of a visit to the region planned this week by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to press for further extensions of the truce and hostage releases. Blinken arrived in Israel late Wednesday.

So far, the Israeli onslaught in Gaza seems to have had little effect on Hamas's rule, evidenced by its ability to conduct complex negotiations, enforce the truce among other armed groups and orchestrate the release of hostages.

With Israeli troops holding much of northern Gaza, a ground invasion to the south will likely bring an escalating cost in Palestinian lives and destruction.

Most of Gaza's population is now crammed into southern Gaza. The truce has brought them relief from bombardment, but the days of calm have been taken up in a frenzied rush to obtain supplies to feed their families as aid enters in greater, but still insufficient, amounts. 

The United States, Israel's main ally, has shown greater reticence over the impact of the war in Gaza. The government of U.S. President Joe Biden 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 the Oct. 7 attack have galvanized Israeli support for the war. But Netanyahu is also under pressure to bring the hostages home and could find it difficult to resume the offensive if there's a prospect for more releases.

Since the initial truce began on Friday, both sides have been releasing women and children. Israeli officials say Gaza militants still hold around 20 women, who would be released in a few days if the swaps continue at the current rate.

After that, keeping the truce going depends on tougher negotiations over the release of around 126 men Israel says are held captive — including several dozen soldiers.

For men — and especially soldiers — Hamas is expected to push for comparable releases of Palestinian men or prominent detainees, a deal Israel may resist.