Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire by at least a further 24 hours just minutes before the fragile truce hit its deadline.
The six-day pause in fighting so far has seen almost 100 hostages released from Hamas’ captivity in Gaza — just over 70 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals, mostly Thai agricultural workers — and 210 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli detention, as of Wednesday. Under the terms of the deal between the warring parties, three Palestinian prisoners are exchanged for every one Israeli hostage.
“The operational pause will continue in light of the mediators’ efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework,” the Israeli Defense Forces posted on its official X account.
Qatar, a key mediator of the arrangement which has also been home to Hamas’ political division since 2012, noted the continuation of humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza under the terms of the cease-fire.
“Palestinian and Israeli sides reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for an additional day under the same previous conditions, which are a ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid, within the framework of the joint mediation of the State of Qatar,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
