Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes on their homes in the village of Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis near the border fence between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on November 27, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Israeli government said today it had put Hamas "on notice" that an "option for an extension" of the truce in the Gaza Strip was open. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

The temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has entered its fifth day after a 48-hour extension was agreed

Three Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for each Israeli hostage returned from Gaza

But Hamas says it is not holding all of the captives in the Gaza Strip, which could complicate efforts to free the most vulnerable

A senior Hamas source in Qatar tells the BBC that some of the civilian hostages are held by smaller groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad

The source says 10 hostages will be released on Tuesday and another 10 on Wednesday but these numbers have not been confirmed by Israel

Meanwhile, the United Nations has used the pause in fighting to get desperately needed aid into Gaza, but says much more is needed

Hamas crossed the border and killed 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October, with about 240 taken hostage

Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 14,500 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign

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