Israel released 15 imprisoned women and 15 children this Tuesday in Israeli prisons after the release by the Islamist group Hamas of 12 hostages held captive in Gazaon the fifth day of the agreement to exchange hostages for prisoners in parallel to a temporary ceasefire.

The Israel Prison Service confirmed the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners, who were detained in different prisons in the country and who were released from the Ofer prison and the Jerusalem detention center. “The Prison Service concludes the fifth round of prisoners within the framework of the operation to return the kidnapped to their homes,” a spokesperson for the agency announced in a statement.

The text included a detailed list of those released, among whom are 17 East Jerusalem residents -5 women and 12 minors- and 13 from different locations in the West Bank occupied such as Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah.

This announcement comes shortly after the Israeli Army announced that it had received 12 hostages –10 Israeli women and two Thai citizens– released by the Islamist group Hamas. The hostages were handed over in the Gaza Strip to the Red Cross, which first took them to Egypt and then handed them over to Israeli troops.

After an initial medical check-up, the freed hostages were transferred to Israeli hospitals to undergo further tests and be reunited with their families. All of this occurs while Qatar, Egypt and the United States mediate between Hamas and Israel for a possible extension of the truce period, which according to what has been agreed so far should end this Wednesday.

The director of the CIA, William Burnsthat of the Israeli Mossad, David Barneaand the head of Egyptian Intelligence, Abbas Kamelmet in Qatar to explore options for achieving a permanent ceasefire, a security source told EFE.

Israel was positive about the proposals and insisted that a possible extension of the truce includes the handover of captive Israeli soldierssince the agreement in force until now only involves the release of civilian women and children, added the aforementioned source.

Fifth day of humanitarian truce

This Tuesday’s releases mark the fifth consecutive day of exchange of hostages for prisoners, within the framework of a temporary ceasefire agreement that came into force last Friday and that, after agreeing yesterday on a two-day extension, will extend until this Wednesday.

Since Friday, Hamas frees 60 Israeli hostages as part of the agreement, in addition to 21 other foreigners, one of them with dual Russian-Israeli citizenship. Israel, for its part, has released 180 Palestinian prisonersall women and children, and it is expected that 30 more will be released this Wednesday.

The pact was mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, which this Tuesday continued efforts to extend the truce for a few more days. Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7 following an attack by the Islamist group, which included the launching of more than 4,000 rockets and the infiltration of some 3,000 militants, who killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 240 in nearby Israeli communities. to the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s air, naval and ground forces have since attacked the Palestinian enclave, where there are already more than 15,000 deadAccording to Palestinian authorities, the majority are children and women, and it is estimated that more than 7,000 people are missing under the rubble.