A new group of 10 hostages will be released this afternoon by Hamas – the 6th day of a cease-fire in Gaza – while the 48-hour extension that was given expires in the evening.

Israel has already received the list of hostages’ names, according to SKAI correspondent Stavros Ioannidis.

At the same time there is an intense diplomatic background and discussions of all parties involved about possible further extension of the ceasefirein order to continue the “swapping” of Hamas hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

If no new agreement is reached, the truce ends at midnight.

Every day since Friday, Hamas has released around ten women and children it kidnapped in its deadly October 7 attack on Israel, in exchange for the release of three times as many Palestinian prisoners.

Twelve hostages (ten Israelis and two Thais) were released last night.

On the Israeli side, 30 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons.

In total, in the 6 days of the ceasefire, which was negotiated with the support of, apart from Qatar, and Egypt and the United States, 60 hostages have been released to date – among them 21 foreign nationals, mostly Thais living in Israel.

On the Israeli side, 180 Palestinians – mostly women and children – who were in Israeli prisons were released.

Israeli authorities have announced that around 240 people were kidnapped on October 7 and taken to Gaza, in an unprecedented attack by the Islamist Palestinian movement that has killed around 1,200 people in Israel, the vast majority of them civilians.