Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza extended two days under deal
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Mediator Qatar said on Monday a truce between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza had been extended 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 pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said in a post on social media platform X.
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.
None of the announcements specified how many hostages would be released, but earlier the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, had said the deal being negotiated would include the release of 20 Israeli hostages from among those seized by Hamas during its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel. In exchange 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be freed, he said.
The initial four-day truce was due to end on Monday night.
The release of 11 Israeli hostages and 33 Palestinians under the original ceasefire agreement was expected later on Monday.
Hamas said it had received a list of Palestinians to be released by Israel, which it said included three female prisoners and 30 minors.
The White House said U.S. officials hope two American women would be among those freed from Gaza, where it believes eight or nine U.S. citizens are being held.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had notified the families of hostages due to be released on Monday, without specifying a number.
