Israel says it got list of hostages to be freed, holding "discussions" about it

Israel has received the list of final 11 hostages set to be released today after 52 days in the clutches of terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

The Prime Minister’s Office says “discussions” are ongoing regarding a list of Gaza hostages to be released today that was received overnight and is being “evaluated,” The Times of Israel reports.

“Additional information will be issued when possible,” the PMO says on behalf of Gal Hirsch, the government coordinator for hostages.

It isn’t immediately clear what the discussions are about and whether Israel has a problem with the list, which reportedly includes 11 abductees. This completes the list of 50 hostages to be released in the four-day truce, which can yet be extended if Hamas releases additional hostages.

Meanwhile, Gaza Health Ministry said that only 3 hospitals were still operating in the northern Gaza Strip, on brink of collapse.

Despite the four-day humanitarian pause, the northern Gaza Strip has only three hospitals now operating, serving some 900,000 people there, and they are close to collapse, a top official warned on November 26.

“The quantities of medical aid and fuel that arrived in the Gaza Strip, especially the northern areas of the strip, are very limited and insufficient, in light of the catastrophic health condition of the hospitals,” Munir Al-Bursh, director general of the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, told Anadolu.

"Medicines and medical supplies must be brought into Gaza in large quantities, in line with the catastrophic health situation in the strip,” he added.

He stressed "the need to strengthen the health system in Gaza and the northern regions and provide adequate health services."

“Only three hospitals are operating in the northern Gaza Strip, namely Al-Maamadani, Al-Awda, and Kamal Adwan,” Bursh said, warning of “their collapse.”

He described the health situation in Gaza in general as "extremely catastrophic and lacking the necessary health components."

On November 23, the government media office in Gaza said that 26 hospitals and 55 health centers on the strip were out of service. Israeli forces also targeted 55 ambulances, while dozens of others are out of service due to fuel shortage.

It has since killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave. The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

Moreover, Israel is concerned that Hamas bigwigs will use the ceasefire to flee from Gaza with hostages.

In a chilling scenario that haunts Israel’s security establishment, senior Hamas officials could exploit the current ceasefire to escape with remaining hostages through tunnels, as reported by Kan 11 News on night November 26. Israeli security experts, recognizing Hamas’s innovation and ruthlessness since October 7, are concerned that the terrorist leadership might seize the break in hostilities and Israel’s attention on released hostages to advance the next phase of the conflict.

Despite the IDF’s successful ground operations and Israel’s commitment to fighting until Hamas loses control in Gaza, the terrorist leaders seek a strategic move that could alter the course of the war. The potential smuggling of hostages to other Arab nations emerges as a tactical consideration.

Hamas’s intricate network of underground tunnels has proven more significant and sophisticated than initially estimated by Israeli intelligence. The prospect of Hamas leaders like Yahyia Siwar and Mohammed Deif attempting an escape through tunnels in the Rafah area, beneath the Philadelphia route to Sinai, alongside their Israeli hostages—most likely kidnapped soldiers—in the southern Gaza Strip is a disconcerting possibility.

If successful, such an escape to a pro-Iranian Arab country, spanning from Pakistan and Iraq to Yemen, Algeria, Lebanon, Qatar, or Iran, would represent a major triumph for Hamas leaders. They could continue their struggle, having lived to fight another day and claiming victory over their adversary.