Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said his country is willing to agree a new temporary truce with Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of more captives held by the Palestinian group.
“Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages,” Herzog told a gathering of ambassadors on Tuesday.
The comments come amid growing international pressure on Israel to pause its assault on Gaza and to allow more humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.
A previous Israel-Hamas agreement mediated by Qatar and Egypt led to a week-long truce at the end of November during which Hamas released 86 women and children it was holding in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli jails. Hamas also released 24 foreign nationals during the pause in fighting.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as the Gulf state’s foreign minister, Mossad Director David Barnea and CIA Director Bill Burns held talks in Poland on Monday to discuss a potential new deal to secure the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons and a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
Credit: aljazeera.com
