Israel-Hamas conflict: Hopes rise that Islamic Jihad may release two hostages

Hopes of a further release of hostages taken in the October 7th attack on Israel were raised on Thursday after one of the groups involved indicated it two of those it had seized might be freed.

The development came as Israel agreed to implement daily four-hour pauses in its operations in Gaza to enable people to flee the fierce fighting taking place between it and Hamas, the militant group that governs the coastal enclave.

Islamic Jihad, which took part in the Hamas-led terror attack on Israel, released video clips featuring two Israeli hostages and saying it would release them for “humanitarian and medical reasons” once the “appropriate measures are met”. It did not specify what these measures are.

One clip showed Hannah Katzir, a wheelchair user aged 77, and the other a 13-year-old boy, Yagil Yaakov, who suffers from serious food allergies. Both were kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz, close to the Gaza border on October 7th, when 3,000 gunmen crossed the border into Israel, killing 1,400 people, according to Israeli authorities, and seizing 239 who were taken back to Gaza.

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Speaking on the videos, both hostages were critical of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, but it is considered likely that their statements were dictated by their captors. Islamic Jihad is believed to be holding about 40 hostages.

The video was released shortly after confirmation came of Israel’s agreement to pause the fighting in northern Gaza for four hours each day.

Announcing the agreement, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Israel would open two humanitarian corridors from north to south Gaza: one, the main Salah al-Din highway, is already operating and has been used by tens of thousands of residents over the last few days; and the other will be on the coastal road.

Shortly after the announcement, Mr Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem issued a statement saying: “The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages.”

Meanwhile, contacts continue to try to secure a hostage release involving dozens of captives, although no agreement is expected in the coming days.

Mossad head David Barnea, CIA chief William Burns and Qatari prime minister Mohammed Al Thani met in Doha on Thursday to discuss a potential hostage deal. Concurrently, Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal arrived in Egypt for talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamer, who has been instrumental in brokering a previous deal between Israel and Hamas.

On Friday, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, is due in Cairo for talks with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The flurry of top-level meetings is the clearest indication to date that the discussions on a hostage deal are moving forward.

The diplomatic manoeuvrings took place as Israel and Hamas engaged in fighting in the centre of Gaza City. On Thursday, Israeli troops captured the Hamas military headquarters in the city, near the Shifa hospital, killing 50 Hamas fighters, according to the Israeli military. The quarter is the heart of intelligence and operational activities of Hamas and was used, among other things, to plan and prepare Hamas operatives for the October 7th attack, says Israel.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces are already implementing “new methods” to neutralise the Hamas tunnel network.

Nearly 11,000 people, including more than 4,400 children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched intensive air strikes in response to the October 7th attack, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

On Thursday night, Israel’s long-range Arrow air defence system intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched towards the Red Sea resort of Eilat, probably fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Earlier in the day, a drone hit a school in the city, causing damage.

Ten Palestinians were killed in the West Bank city of Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp on Thursday in Israeli air strikes and a subsequent limited ground incursion.

Violence has soared in the West Bank in the past month with Israeli forces conducting aggressive raids in what they describe as counterterrorism operations. At least 176 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.