Israel and Hamas agreed Monday to extend their delicate cease-fire for two days, opening the possibility for more hostage releases by the Palestinian militant group and the prospect of a longer halt to the deadliest Israeli war in decades.
As the extension raised hopes for peace, fears of an imminent resumption of fighting soared. Israel said it would adhere to the cease-fire by one day for every 10 hostages Hamas releases.
Hamas confirmed that it had agreed to the extension “under the same terms” after a top official in Qatar, the wealthy Persian Gulf monarchy hosting the group’s political leadership, announced the extension of the “humanitarian truce.”
Israel’s military said the Red Cross confirmed Hamas’ release of 11 hostages on Monday evening under the terms of an original four-day pause in fighting that began Friday. Qatari officials said three French citizens, two Germans and six Argentines were released.
Dozens of Israeli and foreign hostages are believed to remain in the hands of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups inside Gaza. Israeli officials stressed that they remained committed to crushing Hamas’ military capabilities and ending the Gaza-based group’s 16-year rule over the densely populated Palestinian enclave.
Israel has waged a destructive campaign in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise rampage in which fighters killed more than 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. Israel, the U.S. and many other governments consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization. The Israeli counterattack has killed more than 13,300 people, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled enclave.
Israel Defense Forces will resume operations in Gaza with “full force” as soon as the cease-fire deal expires if Hamas does not agree to further hostage releases, government spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters. Israel has said freeing the rest of the hostages is a top priority.
To fully crush Hamas, analysts say, Israel is likely to expand its ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza toward the besieged territory’s southern reaches, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into United Nations shelters.
Relief workers say a humanitarian crisis looms over large parts of Gaza, where dire conditions persist. Aid deliveries were increased under the initial cease-fire deal mediated by U.S., Egyptian and Qatari officials.
Biden backs deal
President Biden hailed the cease-fire extension. He said he has “remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this deal — brokered and sustained through extensive U.S. mediation and diplomacy — can continue to deliver results.”
The White House was hoping more Americans would be freed. U.S. officials acknowledged that they couldn’t predict how Hamas would handle the releases. One American, 4-year-old Avigail Idan, whose parents were killed in the terrorist attack on Israel, was released Sunday.
“We’re glad to see that there’s a two-day extension [to the cease-fire],” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a White House briefing. “And we certainly would hope that in the next two days, in this next couple of installments, that we’ll see some Americans coming out.”
The State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his third trip to Israel this week since the war began to explore an extension of the truce. Mr. Blinken is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his war Cabinet to discuss the situation in Gaza and the military and diplomatic road ahead.
Under the original four-day cease-fire deal, Israel agreed to swap 150 Palestinian prisoners for 50 hostages. As of Monday night, Israel had freed 117 Palestinians and Hamas had released 58 hostages, including 39 Israelis.
French officials confirmed that three of the hostages released Monday, two 12-year-olds and one 16-year-old, were French-Israeli dual citizens. The French government is “working tirelessly” to free five other French citizens held hostage, the French Foreign Ministry said.
Hamas freed four hostages before the truce. Another was rescued, and two were found dead inside Gaza. Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for 2½ weeks under the terms announced Monday.
According to The Associated Press, those still in captivity could include Israeli soldiers, and Hamas is likely to make much greater demands for their release.
Israel was expected to announce the release of more Palestinian prisoners, but it remains to be seen where the cease-fire will lead over the coming days.
“It seems unlikely that the interests of the Israeli side, Hamas and concerned outside actors can be harmonized into what almost the whole international community, outside of Israel, would like to see: a longer pause in the fighting,” said Paul Scham, a nonresident scholar with the Middle East Institute.
“In the short term, the possibility of an extended cease-fire beyond a few more days is low, unless and until the U.S. decides to ratchet up the pressure on the Israeli side, though this would further complicate their shared goal of eradicating Hamas,” Mr. Scham wrote in an analysis circulated by the Washington-based think tank.
National trauma
After weeks of national trauma in Israel over the plight of the hostages, scenes of the women and children reuniting with families have rallied Israelis behind calls to rescue those remaining in Gaza.
Avigail, who turned 4 while in captivity, and 14 Israelis were among 17 hostages Hamas freed on Sunday. Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.
Most of those freed by Hamas in recent days appeared in stable physical condition after nearly two months.
Information about the conditions of their captivity has been tightly controlled, but family members have begun to share details of the released hostages’ experiences.
Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released by Hamas on Friday, said they were fed irregularly and ate mainly rice and bread. She said her cousin and aunt, Keren and Ruth Munder, lost about 15 pounds in 50 days.
Ms. Raviv said she heard from her freed family members that they slept on rows of chairs pushed together in a room that looked like a reception area. They said they sometimes had to wait hours to go to the bathroom.
Adva Adar, the grandchild of 85-year-old released hostage Yaffa Adar, said her grandmother lost weight. “She counted the days of her captivity,” Ms. Adar told The Associated Press. “She came back and she said, ‘I know that I’ve been there for 50 days.’”
Ms. Adar said her grandmother was convinced that her family members were dead but emerged to the news that they had survived. She also found out that militants had ravaged her house.
“For an 85-year-old woman, usually you have your house where you raised your kids, you have your memories, your photo albums, your clothes,” Ms. Adar said. “She has nothing, and in her old age, she needs to start over. She mentioned that it is tough for her.”
Inside Gaza, the precarious cease-fire has allowed food, water and medicine to flow into the territory in the largest volume since the start of the war. Still, the 160 to 200 aid trucks arriving daily is less than half what the territory imported before the fighting began.
Long lines have formed outside stations distributing cooking fuel, which has been allowed into Gaza for the first time in weeks. Fuel for generators has been brought in for key service providers, including hospitals and water and sanitation facilities, but bakeries have been unable to resume operations, the United Nations said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, has said roughly two-thirds of the more than 13,300 people killed in the territory since the fighting began were women and minors.
The majority of the more than 1,200 people killed on the Israeli side, mostly in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, were civilians. At least 77 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Israel’s ground offensive began in late October.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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