Mediator Qatar said on Monday a deal had been reached to extend a truce between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza by two days, continuing a pause in seven weeks of warfare that has killed thousands and laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.
“An agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Hamas also said it had agreed a two-day extension to the truce with Qatar and Egypt, who have been facilitating indirect negotiations between the two sides.
“An agreement has been reached with the brothers in Qatar and Egypt to extend the temporary humanitarian truce by two more days, with the same conditions as in the previous truce,” a Hamas official said in a phone call with Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
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Gaza residents gather around a massive crater ahead of pause in war with Israel
Gaza residents gather around a massive crater ahead of pause in war with Israel
A White House official confirmed on Monday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to extend the truce, adding that it hopes Americans will be among the 20 hostages released next.
The White House official acknowledged there was a “real risk” that Hamas would benefit from the ceasefire.
“Of course we welcome the announcement,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “We would of course hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages.”
Before the statements, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, had said an extension agreement was close and would include the release of 20 Israeli hostages from among those seized by Hamas during its October 7 assault on southern Israel. In exchange 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be freed, he said.
The initial truce was expected to end on Monday night.
With the release of 11 Israeli hostages expected on Monday, negotiations continue for the release of 33 Palestinians, Rashwan added.
Hamas said it has received the list of names of prisoners to be released from Israeli prisons on Monday, according to a statement on its Telegram channel.
The list includes three female prisoners whom it named, and another 30 minors the movement said it would identify later on.
Israel offered Hamas ‘option’ to extend Gaza Strip truce
Israel offered Hamas ‘option’ to extend Gaza Strip truce
The truce agreed last week was the first halt in fighting in the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages back into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
In response to that attack, Israel has bombarded the enclave and mounted a ground offensive in the north. Some 14,800 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza health authorities say, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Wide areas of the Hamas-ruled enclave have been flattened by Israeli air strikes and artillery bombardments, and a humanitarian crisis has unfolded as supplies of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine run out.
On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 people, including a 4-year-old Israeli-American girl, bringing the total number the militant group has released since Friday to 58, including foreigners. Israel freed 39 teenage Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, taking the total number of Palestinians freed under the truce to 117.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse