Israel and Hamas agreed Monday to extend their delicate truce for two days, according to a top official in Qatar, which plays host to political leaders of the Palestinian militant group.
The extension of the original four-day cease-fire likely means that more outside humanitarian aid can get into the sealed-off Palestinian enclave of Gaza and that more Israeli and foreign hostages could be released in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
“The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said in a statement on social media.
The announcement came as the current four-day ceasefire was set to expire on Monday, amid uncertainty over whether Israel and Hamas would follow through with a final hostage and prisoner exchange under the precarious deal reached last week.
Under the deal, Israel agreed to swap a total of 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails for 50 hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack. As of Sunday night, Israel had freed 117 Palestinians, while Hamas had released 43 hostages.
In a dramatic turn on Sunday, Hamas released 4-year-old American girl Avigail Idan, whose parents were killed in the terror group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Israel declared war on Hamas after the group, considered a terrorist organization by both Israel and the United States, staged a murderous rampage Oct. 7 killed more than 1,200 people, primarily civilians, in southern Israel and took 240 people hostage. An Israeli offensive targeting Gaza City in the northern end of the enclave during the weeks since has killed more than 13,300 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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