Israel-Hamas Flash Report 25NOV23 11:30 PST - 20 More Hostages Reportedly Released (Patreon)

After a day of tension that had the cease-fire reportedly on the brink of collapse, there are multiple reports that Hamas has released 13 Israeli and seven additional hostages. It is reported that the 13 Israelis are in poorer health than the group released yesterday and will be taken straight to the hospital. There is no information on the nationality, age, or gender of the foreigners released. Three Americans are supposed to be among the first 50 hostages released during the four-day cease-fire, including a 3-year-old, according to the White House.

Israel and Hamas traded accusations that both sides broke the cease-fire, with Hamas delaying today's transfer.

Hamas accused Israel of launching a strike that killed two people yesterday, while Israeli accused Hamas of launching a handful of rockets minutes after yesterday's cease-fire started. Hamas then said Israel did not release the Palestinian prisoners in the previously agreed order and did not ship enough humanitarian aid today.

The information space is almost impossible to navigate with wildly different numbers for the trucks that crossed into Rafah from 133 to 340. The agreed-upon number was 200, and yesterday fell short by about 30 trucks. Israel said that they are moving as fast as they can and that cargo inspections take time. At the time of publication, Egypt has not accused Israel of delaying aid so it is unknown what the truth is. We have difficulty understanding why reports are so inconsistent at Rafah and why one of the large news agencies can't hire a stringer to count the number of northbound trucks passing the gate on the Egyptian side. This does not appear to be an insurmountable problem.

Very tense situation after what a very successful day yesterday.

We are hopeful, given the multiple reports, that the hostage transfer is happening and the cease-fire will hold.