Gaza hostage situation
Efforts were made to resolve the hostage situation in Gaza through negotiations before the start of Ramadan, some progress was made, but no agreement was reached and none of the kidnapped were recovered. The release of the prisoners by force of arms produced almost as bad a result, only one body was managed to be recovered. The situation has to be understood as far as Hamas is concerned, it is the terrorist organization's last trump card. From Israel's point of view, the concern is that a prolonged cease-fire would enable Hamas's terror to continue while the organization is able to replenish its stocks, especially since Israel is in any case increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza to the numbers that prevailed before the war. COGAT has reported that 419 aid trucks arrived in Gaza on April 9, 2024 – the largest number of trucks in one day since the war began. The previous record was reached the day before with 322 trucks. There are conflicting reports coming out of Cairo about a...