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Hamas freed 12 more hostages and Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday, the fifth day of an extended six-day truce between the Palestinian group and Israel. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the 12 hostages had been transferred from Gaza, and Israel's military confirmed that the 10 Israeli citizens and two foreign nationals were with its special forces on Israeli territory.

The hostages were among some 240 people seized by Hamas gunmen during a rampage into southern Israel on October 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed. Israel's bombardment of Hamas-ruled Gaza in retaliation has killed more than 15,000 Gazans, health authorities there said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the collective efforts of the government and various agencies in the ongoing rescue operation to evacuate the workers stranded in the Uttarakhand tunnel for the past two weeks, ANI reports.

He urged people to pray for the safe and prompt release of the trapped individuals, highlighting the challenges posed by nature during the rescue efforts.

A landslide on November 12 caused a section of the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district to collapse, trapping 41 workers under a substantial mound of debris. Multi-agency rescue operations are being conducted urgently to address the situation.

Efforts to rescue 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi entered the 15th day on Monday. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is working to retrieve broken parts of the auger machine while manual and vertical drilling are also being done to make an escape route for the trapped workers.

Meanwhile, two BRO officials were injured after their SUV was hit by a private bus near the Silkyara tunnel site on Sunday afternoon, police said. The accident occurred just half a kilometre away from the tunnel, when three Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials were on the way to the site in their official vehicle.

The rescue operations in Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand were halted again on Friday after the auger machine encountered another glitch. Rescuers say trapped workers are unlikely to come out tonight.

Experts on the site are analysing the debris and trying to figure out if they can push through it or if it can be cut manually.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday took stock rescue operation in the Silkyara tunnel collapse site in Uttarkashi and directed the officials that the last phase of the rescue operation should be conducted at a fast pace and with complete caution.

India's Supreme Court on Thursday (Nov 23) agreed to consider numerous petitions on November 28 which are seeking its October 17 judgment's reconsideration that had not granted legal recognition to same-sex couples and stated that only the state legislatures and Parliament have the right to validate their marital unions.

The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud by senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and the CJI was requested to ensure that the review petition is taken up before five judges for consideration on November 28, which is the tentative date given by the court registry.