Ten more Hamas hostages were released to the Red Cross on Tuesday as part of an extended cease-fire deal with Israel — which has reportedly vowed not to extend the shaky peace pause past Sunday.
No Americans were freed in the latest round, a White House official told CNN.
The Red Cross received the fifth wave of hostages in the morning, with the group given medical screenings before they are to be transferred to Israel.
The release comes after Qatari officials, who are leading the negotiations between Israel and the terror group, said a total of 20 hostages would be freed over two days — or by Wednesday, when the cease-fire deadline was extended to.
The identities of the newly freed hostages have yet to be revealed.
With Tuesday’s release, 79 hostages in Gaza have now been freed so far, with Israeli officials estimating that about 160 others remain in captivity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office added that it had sent a list of 50 Palestinian prisoners who could be freed in exchange for more hostages and an extension of the truce agreement, NBC News reports.
Tuesday’s hostage release will see the freedom of 30 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, including 15 women and 15 minors. It bumps the total number of prisoners released in exchange for hostages to 147.
One of the prisoners expected to be freed is journalist Marwat al-Azza, who was indicted Monday for statements made on social media, including one that appeared to mock an elderly woman who was kidnapped from Hamas on Oct. 7, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported.
Meanwhile, despite being open to extending the cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave through at least Wednesday, Israeli officials are allegedly unwilling to extend the truce longer than 10 days, a source familiar with the matter told Haaretz.
Israeli officials in talks with Qatari negotiators insisted that the pause will end Sunday no matter what, with the war set to resume afterward, the source said.
Netanyahu has vowed to only end the war when the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which currently runs Gaza, is destroyed.
“The release of all captives, the elimination of the terrorist organization Hamas above and below the ground, and of course Gaza will not return to what it was and can no longer pose a threat to our country,” the prime minister said Tuesday.
IDF officials have described the peace as a chance to “strengthen” their forces in northern Gaza to prepare for another all-out assault.
“The IDF is prepared to continue fighting,” Herzi Halevi, the military’s chief of staff, told troops on Tuesday. “We are using the days of the pause as part of the framework to learn, strengthen our readiness and approve future operational plans.”