Gaza truce must hold to allow more emergency aid into territory – Red Cross

The temporary ceasefire and exchange of hostages in Gaza must hold so more emergency aid can be brought into the territory, the Red Cross has warned.

Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners on Saturday as the temporary truce in Gaza continued.

The hostages were transferred to Israel late on Saturday night, after Hamas delayed the release by several hours, accusing Israel of violating the terms of a truce deal.

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A total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed during the four-day truce as part of the agreement.

Pascal Hundt, Red Cross’s crisis response director, told Sky News on Sunday: “The population and the situation is so desperate here that you know we need this truce to hold in order to have more trucks and more emergency assistance coming into Gaza.

“So that’s why I hope, I’m not confident, I don’t know, we will see, but I really do hope that everything goes without any problem as we saw during the last two operations.”

Mr Hundt said an extension to the ceasefire was as critical for the general population as it was for hostages as people in Gaza were “living under conditions that I cannot even describe, because I never saw that in my entire career with the Red Cross”.

Having been in the cars that brought the hostages across into Egypt, Mr Hundt said the release was “so charged emotionally” and aid workers were almost crying with joy.

More exchanges are expected to take place on Sunday, after Israel confirmed it had received the list of a third group of hostages set for release.

Mr Hundt reiterated the Red Cross had remained on standby throughout and was ready to offer support if any complications arose.

He added that he “cannot make any predictions” on the proposed third day of truce, but that the Red Cross was taking “a step-by-step approach” to the ongoing negotiations.