Israel-Hamas: the tortuous diplomacy of the truce

The truce between Israel and Hamas, which began on Friday 24 November, has been extended beyond the planned deadline (initially 4 days) to continue the gradual release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. To date, 104 hostages (out of 240) have been released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners, much to the relief of their families. Most of the exchanges have involved civilian women and minors. Hamas, under diplomatic pressure, has given priority to freeing foreign nationals. Neither side is yet considering the release of fighters or senior soldiers, who are considered more “valuable” in this type of situation…

The intense diplomatic efforts of the US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have tried to postpone the end of the truce as long as possible in order to extend these releases and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, but a ceasefire is still not on the agenda: fighting resumed this Friday morning, 1 December.

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