Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza extended for 2 days
The truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be extended for two days, the Palestinian group and mediator Qatar said on Monday, November 27, paving the way for further releases of hostages and prisoners.
With just hours left until the end of the “humanitarian pause” on Tuesday morning, Hamas said an agreement had been reached to extend it for 48 hours under existing terms.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli side of the extension, which was hailed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “a glimmer of hope and humanity amid the darkness of war.”
Qatar, with the support of the United States and Egypt, has been involved in intense negotiations to establish and prolong the truce in Gaza.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari announced that “an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for another two days in the Gaza Strip.”
Hamas, which rules Gaza and sparked the latest round of fighting by launching a bloody cross-border attack last month, said it was drawing up a new list of hostages for release.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had informed the families of the identities of the hostages who will be released on Monday, the last day of the initial four-day truce.
Israel says the pause is intended to allow Hamas to release more hostages it has held since the Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, including many women and children, according to Israeli officials.
Israel’s campaign against Hamas left nearly 15,000 dead, most of them Palestinian civilians, according to the Hamas government in Gaza.
Qatar’s announcement came after US President Joe Biden, top EU envoy Josep Borrell and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged both parties to extend the temporary pause in fighting.
As part of the truce agreement, Hamas has so far released 39 Israeli hostages, including a four-year-old girl who was orphaned by the group’s Oct. 7 attack, and more are expected later on Monday.
Israel released 117 Palestinian prisoners under the terms of the agreement.
Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com