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UNIFIL Urges Lebanon to Ensure Its Troops' Freedom of Movement

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
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UNIFIL Urges Lebanon to Ensure Its Troops' Freedom of Movement

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers watch as Israeli workers build a wall near the border with Israel, near the village of Naqoura, Lebanon March 6, 2018. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Andrea Tenenti called upon the Lebanese authorities to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of UNIFIL peacekeepers, the National News Agency reported.

Tenenti's remarks came after a large group of civilians stopped a UNIFIL convoy in Kawthariat Al-Sayad village in southern Lebanon, while it was returning to its base inside UNIFIL's area of operation.

He added that civilians confiscated the equipment of the UNIFIL's patrol, prompting the Lebanese army to rush to the area and take control of the situation.

He explained that the Lebanese Army later arrived at the scene and the UNIFIL peacekeepers were able to leave the village, but without the stolen equipment.

Tenenti stressed that UNIFIL’s full freedom of movement and the safety of its personnel are integral parts of the effective implementation of their tasks, noting that the UN secretary-general and Security Council strongly condemn such incidents.

The mandate of UNIFIL was renewed for another year in August 2020, with the Security Council reducing the number of troops from 15,000 to 13,000.

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Hamas Official Says Group Open to Freeing Hostages, Five-Year Truce in Gaza

08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
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Hamas Official Says Group Open to Freeing Hostages, Five-Year Truce in Gaza

08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)

Hamas is open to an agreement to end the Gaza war that would include the one-time release of all remaining hostages and a five-year cessation of hostilities, an official from the Palestinian group said Saturday.

"Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as a delegation from his group was set to meet mediators in Cairo later in the day.

On April 17, Hamas, which opposes a "partial" ceasefire agreement, rejected an Israeli proposal that included a 45-day truce in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.

The group has consistently demanded that a truce agreement must lead to the end of the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a prisoner exchange, and the immediate and sufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Israel, for its part, demands the return of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza -- the latter being a "red line" for the movement.

The war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 58 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 who are dead, according to the Israeli army.

A truce from January 19 to March 17 allowed the return of 33 hostages to Israel, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

According to figures published by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, at least 2,062 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive resumed on March 18, bringing the total death toll in Gaza to 51,439 since the start of the war.