Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a four-day temporary ceasefire that has already seen dozens of Israeli hostages returned and Palestinians freed from Israeli jails Monday.
The U.S. helped to broker the temporary deal and extension, set to expire early Thursday, with Qatari officials. The West Asian country has played a key role in hostage negotiations.
The extension builds on a deal struck by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar last Friday. The truce establishes a momentary pause in hostilities during which Hamas will release at least 50 women and children of the roughly 240 people that Israeli officials say were abducted on Oct. 7, in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and minors imprisoned in Israeli jails.
The four-day humanitarian pause in fighting marked the longest break in hostilities since Hamas first attacked Israel and has allowed humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. Hamas said Thursday that 200 trucks carrying relief supplies and four fuel trucks would enter the territory each day during the four-day pause, more than existing aid but still not enough, officials say. Palestinians have been without food, water and other basic necessities throughout Israel’s month-long bombardment, which has killed an estimated 15,000 Palestinians.
Israel said the truce would be extended by one day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas.
The announcement of the extension came Tuesday along with the fifth round of releases. Hamas released 12 hostages in exchange for 30 Palestinians: 15 minors and 15 women. One of the minors released was the youngest Palestinian to be released thus far. The 14-year-old returned home to occupied East Jerusalem.
Last Friday marked the first day of exchanges between Israel and Hamas, however. Hamas released 24 hostages it held captive in Gaza in the weeks following Oct. 7, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians — most of whom were detained without ever being charged — from prison. Among those released by Hamas were 13 Israeli women and children, 10 Thai citizens and one man from the Philippines.
Hamas released 13 Israelis and four foreigners late Saturday in the second round of swaps. Shortly after, Israel began releasing 39 Palestinian prisoners.
By Sunday, a bus carrying 39 Palestinian teenagers released from Israeli prisons in the third round of prisoner swaps arrived in the center of Ramallah. The first American hostage — a four year old girl — was among eleven Israeli women and children freed by Hamas. Nine American hostages remain held in Israel, according to a National Security Council spokesperson.
On Monday, which was set to be the final day of exchanges, 11 Israeli hostages — all women and children — were released from Hamas captivity and 33 Palestinians awaited release from Israeli prisons.
As families celebrated the safe return of loved ones, Israel issued warnings to the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians not to return to Northern Gaza. The displaced have made the journey north and sifted through rubble and ash of their former homes, as Israeli soldiers fired at them. During the ceasefire, Israeli soldiers shot two Palestinians and wounded 11 others as they attempted to make the journey back home.
While the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has supposedly ceased its operations in Gaza for the time being, it has ramped up operations in other Israeli-occupied territories. In the West Bank, IDF soldiers raided a refugee camp Tuesday, arresting 14 Palestinians and killing four others, including two children.
Over the first four days of the prisoner exchange, Israel arrested nearly as many Palestinians as it released, Al Jazeera reports.
Calls for a permanent ceasefire persist throughout the U.S. as Democrats in Congress waver on spending on more aid to Israel and Biden imposes limits to Israel’s assault, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue once the ceasefire and hostage negotiations end.
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