An American citizen was among 16 Israeli hostages released early Thursday local time after the Hamas terror group abducted them during its surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Liat Beinin, an Israeli-American high school teacher, was now safe.
The 16 hostages, including Ms. Beinin, were released on the sixth and final day of a two-day extension of a temporary humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The pause in fighting began last Friday. The temporary truce was initially agreed upon for four days, with Israel offering Hamas one additional day of relief from its military offensive for every 10 Israeli hostages released.
In a statement, President Biden said she will soon be reunited with her three children and her father, “who have been wracked with worry for her safety.”
“We remain determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7, including Liat’s husband Aviv,” he added.
Since the initial truce began on Nov. 24, both sides have been releasing women and children. Hamas terrorists captured 240 Israeli hostages during their Oct. 7 surprise attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israel.
Israeli officials say Hamas terrorists still hold around 20 women, who could be released in a few days if the swaps continue at the current rate.
Ms. Liat’s freedom came as part of a larger deal that involved Israel exchanging 30 more Palestinian prisoners for the 16 Israeli hostages. Some of the released Palestinian prisoners were observed in a bus that arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah before dawn.
Throughout the duration of the pause in fighting, Hamas’s hostages were consistently traded for Palestinian prisoners convicted or facing trial in Israel for various crimes. A total of 97 hostages—including 73 Israelis—have been released by Hamas, with the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners early Thursday taking the overall count of released Palestinian prisoners to 210.
Pause Extended, Negotiations Continue
The Israeli military announced early Thursday morning that its “operational pause will continue” due to the work of the mediators trying to forge deals to release more hostages.Qatari officials also confirmed the extension of the humanitarian truce by one additional day “under the same previous terms.”
Negotiators were working down to the wire to hammer out details for a further extension of the pause in fighting beyond the deadline of early Thursday. The talks appear to be getting tougher as most of the women and children held by Hamas have been released, and the terrorists in Gaza are expected to seek greater releases in return for freeing Israeli men and soldiers.
There is international pressure for a “ceasefire” to continue due to the war’s devastating impact in Gaza as the Israeli military carries out its security objective of neutralizing Hamas. The Hamas-controlled health ministry has reported that over 14,000 Palestinians have died amid Israeli strikes.
Israel has said the truce will be extended one day for every 10 Israeli hostages that Hamas releases until that phase is exhausted. Then, the fighting will resume, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“After this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted, will Israel return to fighting? So my answer is an unequivocal yes,” Mr. Netanyahu said ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived in Israel late Wednesday to press for an extension. “There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end.”
Now, sustaining the temporary humanitarian truce relies on tough negotiations for the release of about 126 men, including numerous soldiers, held captive by Hamas, according to Israel. Israel may also be hesitant to release some of the Palestinian men sought by Hamas that they have in their prisons.
Israel has refused to release Palestinians convicted of murder, but its list of 300 prisoners marked for release includes those convicted of attempted murder. The other offenses of those to be released include terrorist activity, damaging property, harming security, throwing rocks, throwing bombs, arson, and possession of firearms or explosives.
So far, the Palestinians released by Israel have been women and minors who were convicted of throwing firebombs and stones during confrontations with Israeli forces. Additionally, several women were convicted by Israeli military courts of attempting to attack soldiers.
The humanitarian truce also saw truckloads of aid and fuel flow into Gaza’s south through Egypt. The temporary ceasefire, the first major pause in the conflict, was agreed upon after hours of deliberation between Israel and the Hamas terror group, brokered by Qatar and Egypt.
