Israel-Hamas War highlights: Netanyahu firm on resuming fight post-ceasefire, IDF okays battleplan

Hamas has handed over 2 Russian-Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, the Israel Defence Forces said. Both of them have been identified as Yelena Trupanov, 50, and her mother Irena Tati, 73.

Earlier, Hamas said handing over these two women was a ‘gesture’ to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, another 10 Israeli hostages are expected to be released.

Israeli minister Benny Gantz said that the country is seeking to make the most of the hostage release deal, however, it is ready to renew the fight against Hamas at a moment's notice.

“We are in complex moment, with a time window within the framework of the deal to return our kidnapped. We will work to make the most of it as much as possible,” he said.

Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Israel's army announced on Wednesday that it was examining a claim made by Hamas's armed wing regarding the reported deaths of a 10-month-old baby hostage, along with his four-year-old brother and their mother in Gaza.

In a statement, the military stated it was "verifying the accuracy of the information," emphasising Hamas's responsibility for the safety of hostages, including nine children, in Gaza.

(With AFP inputs)

Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Palestinian health ministry on Wednesday claimed that Israeli army fatally shot an eight-year-old boy and a teenager in Jenin, occupied West Bank, AFP reported.

The ministry's statement identified the victims as Adam al-Ghul, aged eight, and Bassem Abu el-Wafa, 15, attributing their deaths to bullets fired by the occupying forces.

The AFP report further said that footage circulating online and on TV depicts a boy struck by a bullet, collapsing on the street, causing other children to flee in panic. Additionally, footage shows a teenager hit by a bullet, falling and appealing for help amid more gunfire as people seek cover.

Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Hamas' armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed on Wednesday that three hostages were killed in an earlier Israeli bombardment of Gaza, according to a statement quoted by news agency Reuters.

Israel-Hamas war LIVE: The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday that three soldiers, previously believed to be held captive by Hamas, were actually killed during the October 7 attack. Their bodies were taken to Gaza by Hamas.

First Sergeant Tomer Yaakov Ahimas (20), Sergeant Kiril Brodski (19), and Sergeant Shaked Dahan (19) were officially declared deceased after the IDF Chief Rabbi determined sufficient evidence of their deaths in accordance with Jewish law.

The IDF did not disclose the specifics of how this determination was made.

(With inputs from ANI)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday welcomed the temporary pause in the Gaza conflict and the exchange of hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas, labelling it a temporary "stop of bloodshed" in the region, news agency Reuters reported.

Turkey, advocating for a two-state solution in the enduring conflict, has vehemently criticised Israel's military actions in Gaza, initiated in response to Hamas' recent actions resulting in casualties and hostages.

"We view the hostage exchanges, the humanitarian pause as a positive development in terms of a stop of bloodshed," Erdogan said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referring to him as ‘butcher of Gaza’ saying that he is “fostering anti-Semitism worldwide” due to Israel's response to the October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas militants. According to news agency AFP, Erdogan, addressing his party members in parliament, labelled Israel as a ‘terrorist state’ and praised Hamas as ‘a liberation group.’

During a televised speech, Erdogan asserted, 'Netanyahu has etched his name in history as the butcher of Gaza.' He expressed concerns about the safety of Jews globally, saying, 'Netanyahu endangers the security of all Jews worldwide by supporting anti-Semitism through the Gaza killings.'

Erdogan's forceful remarks have strained Turkey's recent attempts to mend ties with Israel, which saw the reappointment of ambassadors after a ten-year period of severed relations."

Emily Hand, the nine-year-old girl released after Hamas held her hostage for 50 days, will now only talk in whispers having been ordered to stay silent by her captors, her father told British tabloid The Sun in an interview published on Wednesday.

"She was a normal happy noisy kid but now she whispers -- she was moving her lips with no volume or even air coming out," Thomas Hand was quoted as saying.

The ten Israeli captives released by Hamas on Tuesday night are undergoing medical and psychological evaluations on Wednesday morning.

Eight of the Israelis were taken to the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv. Prof. Itai Pessach, who directs Sheba's children's hospital, described them as "a group of extraordinary women who endured the hardships of their captivity in a remarkable fashion."

Terror group Hamas is willing to extend a truce for four days and release more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a source close to the militant group said Wednesday, as mediators sought a lasting halt to the conflict, reported AFP.

A current truce is scheduled to expire early Thursday after a six-day pause in the conflict, sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted a devastating Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

With 60 Israeli hostages and 180 Palestinian prisoners already released and more set to walk free on Wednesday under the agreement, Qatari mediators said they were working for a "sustainable" ceasefire.

Pope Francis on Wednesday called for the continuation of the ongoing truce in the Gaza Strip, for the release of all hostages and for humanitarian aid access into the territory.

"We call for peace," he said during his Wednesday weekly audience, saying he was concerned by the lack of water, bread and by the suffering of ordinary people in Gaza.

After a career in the shadows, spent in Israeli prisons and the internal security apparatus of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar rose to lead the Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip.

Now, Israeli officers say, he is a “dead man walking”, reports AFP

International mediators worked Wednesday to extend the truce in Gaza, hoping the territory's Hamas rulers will keep freeing hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners

Source close to Hamas says group willing to extend truce by four more days. reports AFP.

Jian Omar, a Berlin lawmaker of Kurdish-Syrian background, feels unprotected by police after suffering hate-filled flyers. Hate crime has risen dramatically in Europe since the Oct. 7 assault killed around 1,200 Israelis and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza which has killed around 14,800 Palestinians, with registered antisemitic incidents up 1,240% in London and steep rises also seen in France and Germany.

Hamas on Tuesday released 12 more hostages including two foreign nationals on the first day of the extended truce between Israel and Hamas. One of the hostages included Ditza Heiman, an 81-year-old woman who locked herself in the safe room during the Hamas attacks on October 7.

Seventeen Thai hostages kidnapped and held for weeks in the Gaza Strip by Hamas will arrive back in the kingdom on Thursday, officials said.

Roughly 13 Thais remain among the hostages taken by Palestinian militants during last month's cross-border raid into Israel, according to Thailand's foreign ministry.

The ministry confirmed Wednesday that 17 freed Thais would return home Thursday, touching down in the capital Bangkok shortly after midday.

We should all rejoice to see Israeli hostages being released following the barbaric attacks by Hamas nearly two months ago. But under the short pause in fighting, the terrorists are exchanging kidnapped Israelis — in agonizingly slow fashion — to purchase time to rearm, refresh and reset their forces. There is not a shred of humanitarian impulse here. Hamas cynically measures the price of human lives and then doles them out 10 at a time for another day of military advantage.

The United States supports further extension in the truce between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of all the hostages in captivity, the White House said on Tuesday.

"We want to see all the hostages released. And so, if there can be extended pauses beyond these two-day extensions...we're in favour of that. And we're going to keep working on this, as I said, hour by hour with all our partners in the region," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group.

Kirby, told reporters separately, “Now you have an added population of hundreds of thousands more in the south that you didn’t have before (the Israelis) moved into Gaza City."

“And so it’s even all that more of an added burden on Israel to make sure that as they start to plan for operations in the south, whatever that looks like, that they have properly accounted for...the extra innocent life that is now in south Gaza.”

Hamas and Israel released more hostages and prisoners under terms of a fragile cease-fire that held for a fifth day Tuesday as international mediators in Qatar worked to extend the truce. The United States urged Israel to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if it follows through on its promise to resume the war.

India has welcomed the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas and called for the immediate and unconditional release of those still held in captivity.

So far, over 60 Israeli and foreign nationals have been released by Hamas in five groups and Israel has in return freed about 150 Palestinian prisoners.

“We are gathered today at a time when the security situation in the Middle East is deteriorating due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, with large-scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children and an alarming humanitarian crisis. This is clearly unacceptable and we have indeed strongly condemned the death of civilians,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said on Tuesday.

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries support the further extension of the current truce deal between Israel and Hamas and future pauses to increase assistance and facilitate the release of all hostages, they said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

"Every effort must be made to ensure humanitarian support for civilians. ... We support the further extension of this pause and future pauses as needed to enable assistance to be scaled up, and to facilitate the release of all hostages," the joint statement added.

Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara welcomed on Wednesday the release of two more Thai hostages who had been held by Hamas in Gaza, the latest to be freed under a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.

"Happy to personally welcome 2 additional Thai hostages just released and arrived at the hospital in Tel Aviv," Parnpree, who is also deputy prime minister, posted on social media platform X.