Qatar said on Monday that mediators had agreed on an agreement to extend the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by two days to allow the release of more hostages held in Gaza.
The announcement to extend the original four-day pause in the Israel-Hamas war, which was set to end on Monday, came after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faced increasing domestic and international pressure to give more time to release hostages.
The Israeli military announced on Monday evening that Hamas had released another eleven hostages. Qatar said Israel had released another 33 Palestinian prisoners.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari announced the agreement “to extend the humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for another two days” as part of his country’s mediation between Israel and Hamas.
The Palestinian militant group confirmed that it had agreed to extend the pause in fighting by two days “under the same conditions as the previous ceasefire.” Israel has not yet commented on the deal.
Ansari did not say how many hostages would be released in the next 48 hours. But negotiators had previously said that if the ceasefire was extended by two days, Hamas would release an additional 20 women and children held in Gaza.
In return, Israel would release an additional 60 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
As part of a ceasefire brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States last week, Hamas agreed to the staggered release of 50 women and children who had been held in Gaza for four days. Israel, in turn, said it would allow more aid into the besieged strip and release 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, who was released from Gaza on November 26, was reunited with friends and family on Monday © via PortalHamas and other militants captured about 240 civilians and soldiers during the group’s deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The US welcomed the extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and said it would like to see the break extended beyond the additional two days.
“We will not stop until all hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement.
He added that the pause in hostilities had not only allowed for the release of hostages, but also allowed for “a significant increase” in humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and the occupied West Bank later this week, a State Department official said.
Blinken “will emphasize the need to maintain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, ensure the release of all hostages and enhance protection of civilians in Gaza,” the official added.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the Financial Times on Sunday that in order to extend the ceasefire, Hamas would need to locate women and children held by other militants, civilians and gangs in the Gaza Strip.
He said Israel had provided Qatar with a list of more than 90 women and children seized during the Hamas attack on October 7.
But when the original hostage deal was negotiated last week, it was agreed to release 50 women and children because Hamas said it was able to secure that number, Sheikh Mohammed said.
An official briefed on the negotiations said Hamas was confident it could use the initial four-day break to locate another 20 women and children held hostage.
“It is believed that most of these were held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” the official added, referring to a smaller militant group.
“The hope now is that Hamas can locate more hostages during the two-day extension.”
Izzat al Rishq, a Hamas official, told Al Araby television that the group was “working on the search for the remaining missing.” [hostages]“.
“We are ready to negotiate the captured occupation [Israeli] Soldiers, but this file has not been opened yet,” he said. “These soldiers have a different situation, and Netanyahu knows it.”
Israeli officials said Monday evening that another 11 hostages had arrived in Israel from Gaza, including three women and eight children.
Qatar said the 11 people included three French nationals, three Germans and six Argentinians.
Qatar also said that the 33 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel on Monday included three women and 30 children.
According to recent reports, 50 women and children have been freed from captivity in the Gaza Strip. Israel, in turn, has released 150 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.
The success of the delicate hostage-for-prisoner swap has lifted Israeli national spirits and raised hopes that the deal could be extended.
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The release of the hostages received almost universal media coverage in Israel, while thousands of Palestinians gathered every evening outside Ofer Prison between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to celebrate the release of the prisoners and the strengthening of Hamas’s political standing.
At a celebration of the release of an Israeli hostage, Noam Alon, whose girlfriend Inbar Haiman was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, vowed to keep up the pressure for the release of more hostages “at all costs.”
“We expect the release of all people and want our government to do everything possible to continue the agreement,” he said.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would “welcome” the prospect of releasing more hostages, but also stressed that Israel was ready to resume hostilities against Hamas.
Israeli officials believe Hamas will demand larger numbers and higher-ranking prisoners in exchange for each hostage beyond the original agreement.
Palestinian officials say Israeli forces have captured swathes of northern Gaza through airstrikes and ground invasions that have killed at least 14,800 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis.
About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, according to Israeli officials.
Additional reporting by Heba Saleh in Cairo and Raya Jalabi in Beirut