Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a temporary ceasefire between them by another day in an eleventh-hour deal minutes before the ceasefire was set to expire, Qatari mediators said.
The two sides reached an agreement with little time to spare before a previously negotiated ceasefire was set to expire at 7am local time Thursday.
The talks stalled over a disagreement over a list of Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas Thursday but the sides were able to strike a deal within minutes of the deadline.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the ceasefire would continue for one more day under the same conditions as previously arranged. Hamas will release 10 hostages it kidnapped from Israel on October 7 in return for the release of 30 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and a pause in airstrikes.
Israel and Hamas are fighting over which hostages to release in a long-running debate.
Hamas has offered to release seven hostages who are still alive and three bodies that the group claims were killed in previous Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Israel rejected the proposal and later said Hamas came back with an improved list that it agreed to.
Hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack on Israel are handed over to the International Red Cross on November 29, 2023, in the Gaza Strip. via REUTERS Israeli supporters hold a flag as Israeli hostages arrive at the Ofakim military base in southern Israel early on November 30, 2023. AFP via Getty Images Israeli soldiers walk outside a military prison in the occupied West Bank on November 30, 2023, hours before a ceasefire set to expire. AFP via Getty Images
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The exchange of prisoners over the past few days has seen the release of women and children. But as the number of women and children under Hamas control declines, negotiations are expected to become more difficult.
The militant group is expected to demand greater conditions if Israel wants the men and soldiers held hostage to be released.
The lull in fighting may continue for another day or two before that happens as Israel faces intense international pressure to extend the ceasefire as long as possible, if not permanently.
One of the recently freed hostages saluted the cameras as they were handed over to the International Red Cross before being taken back to Israel from the Gaza Strip. via REUTERS The talks stalled over a disagreement over a list of Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas Thursday but the sides were able to strike a deal within minutes of the deadline. via REUTERS
Eight weeks of relentless Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 13,300 Palestinians and left thousands more homeless, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Israel says it is open to halting all attacks if Hamas continues to release more hostages.
With Postal wire.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
