Hamas Urged to Free Hostages by Midnight Deadline, Red Cross to Monitor Transfer

Al Jazeera reported that Hamas must release all living Israeli hostages by the morning of October 13. The statement, cited by the channel on October 20, indicated that Hamas would hand over all surviving captives between Sunday and 06:00 on Monday morning. The International Committee of the Red Cross will oversee the transfer. Israel has approved a plan to secure the hostages’ release. On October 9, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, involving partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas releasing remaining hostages in exchange for prisoners held in Israel. The truce took effect on October 10 at 12:00 Moscow time.