A family dog accompanies 12 hostages returned from Gaza on Tuesday
17-year-old Mia Leimberg carried her family dog Bella with her when she was released from captivity in Gaza on Tuesday.
LEARN MOREPosted: 8:58 a.m. EST Nov 29, 2023 Updated:12:39 a.m. EST Nov 30, 2023
A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has been extended for at least one more day. Minutes before the cease-fire was scheduled to expire, the Israeli military announced on X that the "operational pause will continue in light of the mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework."
The temporary cease-fire fire took effect last Friday. It was originally supposed to only last four days, but it has now been extended two times.
So far under the deal, Hamas has freed more than 80 hostages. In exchange, Israel has released about 200 Palestinians from its prison.
Late Wednesday, 10 Israeli women and children and four Thai nationals were released by Hamas.
U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that one of the hostages, 49-year-old Liat Beinin Atzili, is an American-Israeli citizen.
Benin is "a high school teacher, a guide at Israel’s Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem, and an American," Biden said in a statement. "Jill and I are deeply gratified that she will soon be reunited with her three children and her father, who have been wracked with worry for her safety. And we remain determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7, including Liat’s husband Aviv."
Earlier in the day, the terrorist organization also released two Russian-Israeli hostages. In exchange, Israel freed 30 Palestinian prisoners.
The pause in fighting has not just resulted in prisoner exchanges, it has also allowed critically needed shipments of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Supplies like food, fuel, water and medical supplies have been making their way into the region.
Regardless of a truce extension, Israel remains adamant it will continue fighting when the cease-fire eventually lifts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on that point Wednesday.
"From the start of the war, I set three goals: Eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again go back to being a threat to the State of Israel. These three goals still stand," he said in a press briefing.
