As More Hostages Are Freed, Israel Sees 'Competing Demands'

Israel said a dozen more hostages—10 Israelis and two Thai nationals—were released Tuesday by Hamas, on the fifth day of a pause in fighting that's set to expire early Thursday. A tweet from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office noted that the families of this newest set of ex-hostages had been told their loved ones were back in Israel, per the Washington Post. A rep for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which is helping mediate the truce, says that 15 Palestinian children and 15 Palestinian women would be released by Israel in exchange; Israel's prison service says that has already transpired. The AP notes that 81 people in total have been freed so far since the temporary truce began.

The original four-day pause in fighting between Israel and the Hamas militants who carried out the Oct. 7 attack in Israel that left 1,200 dead was stretched for another 48 hours on Monday, but some international mediators say they're now hoping for an even longer extension of the pause, if not a permanent ceasefire. "After tomorrow, we expect to have another two to three days of hostage release and a humanitarian pause, after which either we resume operations in Gaza or potentially reach a follow-on agreement," one Israeli official tells the Post, though they added that even Hamas continuing to release hostages won't "lead to a permanent ceasefire."

The New York Times notes that Israel is about to be caught in the middle of "competing demands," with other parts of the world asking them to end the fighting for good, while some Israelis will insist Israel keep fighting to root out and crush Hamas. The Post reports that more than 13,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its military response in Gaza to the Oct. 7 attack. Meanwhile, hostages who've already been released are now painting a picture of their time in captivity, which seems to have included dwindling rations of food and constant bombardment.

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Merav Raviv, who saw three of her relatives released by Hamas, tells USA Today that meals were irregular and mainly consisted of bread and rice, and that her aunt and cousin lost about 15 pounds each during their seven weeks or so in captivity. Raviv adds her relatives said they slept on rows of chairs pushed together and often had to wait hours to use the bathroom. Meanwhile, a rep for Israel's Ichilov Hospital said the nine children it had so far received suffered from malnutrition while being held, per the Post. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)