Israel-Hamas war: Another 12 hostages handed to Red Cross

For more updates on the Israel-Hamas war, head to our Wednesday blog.

Thailand's Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara on Wednesday welcomed back two more Thai hostages who had been held by the militant-Islamist Palestinian group Hamas.

"Happy to personally welcome 2 additional Thai hostages just released and arrived at the hospital in Tel Aviv," Parnpree said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. 

At least 39 Thai nationals were killed during the October 7 terror attacks on southern Israel, while 32 were taken hostage, according to Thai officials.

Around 30,000 Thai nationals work in Israel, mainly in the agricultural sector according to Thailand's Labor Ministry.

The US said on Tuesday it had airlifted over 54,000 pounds (24.49 tons) of medical supplies and food aid to a humanitarian logistics hub in Egypt.

The supplies are to be sent on to civilians in Gaza, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

Sullivan said it was the first of three planned deliveries over the next few days.

"These supplies will save lives and alleviate the suffering of thousands in Gaza," Sullivan said.

Sullivan went on to say that the "ongoing humanitarian pause has enabled the international community to surge significant additional assistance" to civilians in Gaza.

The aid deliveries are the first by the US military since the conflict began following the October 7 attacks on Israel by militant-Islamist group Hamas, which the US, Germany and others classify as a terrorist organization.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that a German-Israeli citizen was among the 12 hostages released on Tuesday.

"Weeks of anguish have finally come to an end for other families: just today, 12 hostages were released — among them, a German woman. I'm relieved for them all," Baerbock said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Germany's top diplomat went on to say that "each individual liberation is a reminder of how many people's worst nightmare still continues."

Israel's prison authority also confirmed that 30 Palestinian prisoners had been released as part of the truce, which included 15 women and 15 male teenagers.

The announcement follows the release of 10 Israeli and two Thai hostages returned to Israel.

Regional broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that a bus carrying Palestinian prisoners departed Israel's Ofer prison on its way to the West Bank city of Beitunia.

Israel had earlier released 150 Palestinian prisoners under the truce deal with Hamas. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the 12 hostages released from captivity in the Gaza Strip arrived safely in Israeli territory.

"The released hostages are... inside Israeli territory," said the army in a statement on the fifth day of a pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip, adding that it "salutes and embraces the released hostages upon their return home."

Among the Israeli nationals are adult women up to the age of 84 and a 17-year-old teenager, who was released together with her mother.

In total, some 81 hostages have so far been released in the past days, including 61 Israeli nationals.

Militant-Islamist group Hamas has begun handing the latest batch of Israeli hostages over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Israeli military said. 

The group of released hostages includes 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals, the military said. 

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told DW that it would be "catastrophic" if the temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza was not extended further.

"We do not think that continued warfare would make Israel safer, and it would certainly make Gaza unlivable for 2.3 million people," Egeland said. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said the war against Hamas, classified by multiple countries as a terrorist organization, would continue after the truce until Israel achieved all its goals.

Egeland said finding a permanent solution to the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict was more important. 

"That they want to take those killers from the 7th October, I very much understand, but they have killed thousands of children now with their bombardment. The rest of the world doesn't really accept that war on terror would mean killing thousands of innocent children," Egeland said. 

Egeland called on Israel's allies to urge the country's leader to do more to protect civilians from the war.

"So we hope the United States and the United Kingdom and Germany, that are naturally friends and allies of Israel, can convince them to shield the civilian population, which means an end to this."

Israel's army said an exchange of fire had taken place in the north of the Gaza Strip, despite the ongoing truce between Israel and Hamas. Israel blamed the militant-Islamist group for violating the current pause in the fighting.

It was not immediately clear if the fire exchange posed a threat to the four-day truce, which had just been extended by 48 hours to last until Thursday morning local time.

Israel said its soldiers were reportedly shot at and returned fire. Additionally, a total of three explosive devices exploded next to soldiers at two locations, the Israeli army said.

Hamas confirmed that a confrontation with the Israeli army had taken place. It blamed Israel for violating the four-day truce.

Hamas said it would continue to honor the truce as long as Israel did the same, and it called on Qatar and Egypt to help mediate the situation.

US and Israeli intelligence chiefs are in the Qatari capital to discuss a deal between Israel and Hamas to extend the temporary cease-fire, the AFP and Reuters news agencies reported.

CIA Director William J. Burns and Mossad chief David Barnea were set to meet with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, according to sources that were quoted by the news agencies. 

"The director of the CIA and the director of the Israeli National Intelligence Agency (Mossad) are in Doha to meet with the Qatari prime minister to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal," an unnamed source told AFP.

The meeting was "to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions
about the next phase of a potential deal," the source told Reuters.

According to the Washington Post, the US wants Israel and Hamas to secure a longer multi-day deal for a pause in fighting, and to consider the release of men and military personnel as part of the hostage deal. 

Burns would also reportedly push for the immediate release of American hostages held by Hamas. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said all hostages held by Hamas "must now be released immediately."

Speaking in Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, he committed his government to that goal.

Scholz said he was relieved that some hostages had been freed "through tireless diplomacy."

"The fact that several Germans are among those released is another reason to rejoice," he said.

Since Friday, 69 hostages have been released, including 10 German dual nationals. 

Scholz added, "the German government will continue to contribute... with all its force" to securing the release of the remaining hostages. 

Qatari mediators were focused on further extending a temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza beyond Wednesday, said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry.

"Our main focus right now is, and our hope, is it reach a sustainable truce that would lead to further negotiations and eventually and end to this situation of violence and to this war," he said a press conference in Doha. 

Qatar on Monday announced a 48-hour extension of an initial four-day truce, opening the way for further releases of hostages held by the Palestinian militant-Islamist group Hamas in exchange for the release of some Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. 

Al-Ansari said 10 hostages held in Gaza will be released on Tuesday and another 10 on Wednesday.

He was unable to say how many hostages in total were still held by Hamas.

The AFP news agency quoted a "source close to Hamas" as saying that 10 hostages would be freed from Gaza on Tuesday, as well as 30 Palestinians who had been detained by Israel.

The United States has told Israel to avoid significant civilian displacement in any ground offensive in southern Gaza, senior White House officials said, according to the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies. 

Israel was planning military operations in southern Gaza after its truce with Hamas expires and had asked residents of some neighborhoods to evacuate their homes.

"You cannot have the sort of scale of displacement that took place in the north replicated in the south. It will be beyond disruptive. It will be beyond the capacity of any humanitarian support network," one US official was quoted as saying by Reuters. "It can't happen."

The official said an offensive in the south needs to be "deconflicted" from power, water, humanitarian sites, and hospitals.

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced that the warship Dixmude is docked in Egypt and could begin treating wounded Gazan children before the end of the week.

"We have this ship, which has been transformed into a hospital and which arrived yesterday. It has 40 beds," Lecornu said in remarks to Europe 1 radio.  

The Dixmude has been adapted to facilitate a military-civilian medical team including 22 civilian doctors, 16 of whom are surgeons and six of which are pediatricians.

The ship, moored at the port of el-Arish, is the first Western military vessel to dock in Egypt since the conflict ensued with a surprise attack on Israel by Islamist Hamas terrorists on October 7.

Located 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Gaza, el-Arish serves as a hub for international aid to the Palestinian enclave. Western powers are ramping up efforts to facilitate humanitarian aid to war-torn Gaza.

Egypt has requested specialized French medical equipment and financial assistance to help integrate wounded and sick Gazan children into their health care system.   

Defense Minister Lecornu said French military officials are coordinating approval to operate with Egyptian and Israeli officials.

Italy has also dispatched a medical ship to the region as Western powers seek to counter impressions that they are not doing enough to help Gazan civilians trapped in a brutal conflict.

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