The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas said on Monday it told Qatari mediators they were ready to release up to 70 women and children held in Gaza in return for a five-day truce with Israel.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group said: “Qatari mediation has led efforts” to release 100 Israeli hostages in return for 200 Palestinian children and 75 women held in Israeli prisons.
“We informed the mediators we could release the hostages if we obtained five days of truce… and passage of aid to all of our people throughout the Gaza Strip, but the enemy is procrastinating,” he said in an audio statement.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US media “there could be” a deal to free hostages held in Gaza, but stopped short of providing any details.
Israeli officials say around 240 people, including foreigners, were taken hostage when Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip surged through the heavily militarized border with Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Among those captured were at least 30 minors, including some young children.
After the attack, Israel began an intensive bombing campaign in Gaza, which the Hamas government says has killed 11,240, also mostly civilians.
Political leaders and army chiefs in Israel have said there will be no ceasefire until the hostages are freed.
A total of 224 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and eight children have so far been repatriated back to the Philippines since Hamas terrorists launched their attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
On Monday, the seventh batch of OFWs from Israel composed of 39 adults and two children arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 via Etihad Airways flight EY424.
“There are 29 caregivers and 10 hotel workers in this group of returnees,” the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said in its Facebook post.
The Presidential Communications Office earlier announced that benefits and assistance given by the Philippine government to repatriated OFWs include a return ticket from Israel to Manila, $200 in financial assistance for their immediate needs, and hotel accommodation in Israel while waiting for their flight.
Upon arrival in Manila, they will also receive P50,000 from the Department of Migrant Workers, P50,000 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, care kits and food packs from the National Reintegration Center for OFWs, initial physical and medical check-ups, and medical referral services if needed by the Department of Health;
Psychosocial assessment and evaluation by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the DOH, P20,000 financial assistance for individuals in crisis situations from the DSWD, and skills training vouchers and care kits from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
On Monday, Israel’s Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss called for the release of 33 children who were held hostage in Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
“Just think about it, it is not human. The message is, release the hostages, release the children. Let them go home,” he said during a media briefing.
“The real picture is the 10-month-old baby that was kidnapped, taken from his home. For me, this is really the story.”
Kfir Bibas is the youngest of the 239 hostages, including 33 children, held by Hamas.
He was nine months old when he was abducted together with his parents and 4-year-old sibling five weeks ago.
He noted that authorities have been working in the past month to identify the victims who were slaughtered in their homes, on the streets, and at a music festival.
Some of them were burned, mutilated, raped, and tortured as shown in the video footage recorded and disseminated via social media by the terrorists themselves.
Fluss said the embassy cares about all overseas Filipino workers who are in Israel and the families of those who died due to the atrocity.
“We will take care of them exactly the same as we take care of our own Israeli families of the victims of terrorism,” he said. — AFP