Hamas terrorists say they are willing to extend the ceasefire by releasing extra hostages as the truce enters its final day
Hamas has said it wants a four-day ceasefire between its fighters and the Israel Defense Forces to be extended beyond today’s deadline to negotiate the release of more Gaza hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
In a new statement released, Hamas called for “an extension of the truce after the conclusion of the four-day period, through serious efforts to increase the number of people released from captivity, as stipulated in the humanitarian ceasefire agreement.”
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas lasted last night, when the Palestinian group released another 17 hostages from captivity in the Gaza Strip, including 14 Israelis and the first American, as Tel-Aviv, in turn, handed over 39 prisoners Palestinians.
A fourth exchange is expected today, during which a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners will be released.
International mediators led by the US, Egypt and Qatar are now trying to extend the ceasefire that began on Friday to allow for the exchange of more hostages, as war-weary Gazans seek further relief from the Israeli bombs.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was resolute in his intentions to crush Hamas, declaring that his forces would resume their offensive “with all our strength” once the truce expires.
Before the latest hostage release, Netanyahu donned a bulletproof vest and visited the Gaza Strip, where he spoke with troops.
“Ultimately we will return them all,” he said of the hostages, adding that “we will continue until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us. It was not clear where he went inside Gaza.
The Israeli Prime Minister had already told US President Joe Biden that he would be willing to extend the truce with Hamas for another day for every 10 hostages released.
But after the Qatar-brokered deal was reached last week, Netanyahu said the goals of “eliminating Hamas and recovering the hostages” would continue unhindered regardless of when the truce finally came to an end.
It turns out that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who led the effort to mediate the ceasefire, told the Financial Times that an extension of the agreement depends on Hamas’ ability to locate more hostages, which he said being held by ‘civilians and gangs’.
“If they get more women and children, there will be an extension,” said Sheikh Mohammed. ‘We still don’t have clear information about how many they might find because. . . one of the purposes (of the pause) is that they (Hamas) will have time to search for the rest of the missing people.’
Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com