Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the temporary ceasefire between them for another day in a last-minute deal minutes before the truce was set to expire, Qatari mediators said.
The sides reached an agreement with little time to spare before the previously negotiated pause in fighting expired at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday.
Negotiations had stalled over disagreements over the list of Israeli hostages Hamas would release on Thursday, but the sides were able to reach an agreement minutes after the deadline.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the ceasefire would continue for another day on the same terms previously agreed. Hamas will release 10 hostages it kidnapped in Israel on October 7 in exchange for the release of 30 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and a pause in airstrikes.
Israel and Hamas were arguing over which hostages the latter would release in a debate that went down to the wire.
Hamas had proposed releasing seven live hostages and the bodies of three who the group said were killed in earlier Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Israel rejected the proposal and later said Hamas returned with an improved list that it accepted.
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 Israel supporters hold flags as Israeli hostages arrive at the Ofakim military base in southern Israel early on Nov. 30, 2023. AFP via Getty Images Israeli soldiers walk outside a military prison in the occupied West Bank on Nov. 30. November 2023, hours before the ceasefire was about to expire. AFP via Getty Images
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Prisoner exchanges in recent days have allowed 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 ask for better conditions if Israel wants the men and soldiers who were taken hostage to be released.
The pause 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 newly freed hostages waves to the camera as they are handed over to the International Red Cross before being transported back to Israel from the Gaza Strip. via REUTERS Negotiations had stalled over disagreements over the list of Israeli hostages that Hamas would release on Thursday, but the parties were able to reach an agreement within minutes of the deadline. Via REUTERS
Eight weeks of relentless Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed more than 13,300 Palestinians and left thousands more homeless, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel said it is willing to suspend all attacks if Hamas continues to release more hostages.
With mail cables.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn