Qatar, which is mediating the truce talks, announced the extension of the ceasefire and added that more hostages will be released by Hamas, and Israel will reciprocate by freeing more Palestinian prisoners.
The official spokesperson for Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs said on X: “The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip.”
Before the formal announcement, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, had said an extension agreement was close and would include the release of 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Hamas buying time?
Hamas took around 250 hostages during its deadly attack against Israel on October 7. Around 185 still remain in the hands of the militant group after it released 58 hostages in three phases over the past four days.
Israel had said it was willing to extend the truce by one day for every 10 hostages that are released.
Hamas has further offered to release all hostages in exchange for Israel releasing all Palestinian prisoners, a position supported by some Israeli families but rejected by the Israeli military as “psychological terror”. Rough estimates suggest there are around 8,000 Palestinians currently in Israeli custody.
“We want all hostages back home now, so whatever it takes and as long as we keep on getting them back home, I want the ceasefire to continue,” said community manager Arava Gerzon Raz, speaking on a square in Tel Aviv that has become a hub for families and supporters of the hostages.
Hamas can easily buy at least 20 more days of relief from Israeli military operations, which could give it time to regroup and recover.
“Hamas is going to play with Israel and say, ‘Oh, we found another five kids. If you give us another day, there are a few in the north that we can find,” Shira Efron, a senior researcher at Israel Policy Forum, a New York-based political research group, told The New York Times.
There is also extreme domestic pressure on the Benjamin Netanyahu government to get the hostages released even if it means scaling back military operations in Gaza and foregoing its stated goal of ‘eradicating Hamas’.
A day after an initial successful exchange of hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas, thousands of Israelis gathered in front of the central military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday to keep pressure on the government to prioritise the return of all the hostages over resuming military action in Gaza.
“Even if Hamas isn’t destroyed, I just want everyone to return,” said Sitar Kires, 27, who participated in demonstrations calling for the government to make the freeing of the hostages its top priority.
Israeli military wary
An Israeli military official said the country was committed to freeing as many hostages as possible but expressed concern that the longer the truce lasts the more time Hamas has to “rebuild its capabilities and attack Israel again”.
A long ceasefire may also increase diplomatic pressure on Israel to not resume extensive bombarding of the Gaza Strip.
“Time works against Israel. On one hand you want all the hostages out knowing that you can’t get them out militarily and on the other you don’t want to lose completely the momentum of this war,” Andreas Krieg, of King’s College London, told AFP.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant had recently insisted that the timeline for the truce was “short”. “It won’t take weeks, it will take days, more or less,” he said, flanked by heavily armed soldiers. “Any further negotiations will take place under fire.”
The extension, however, seems to have put Gallant in a tight spot.
PM Benjamin Netanyahu too had said that the war, which started 50 days ago, was far from over. “Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the strength, the power, the will, and the determination to achieve all the goals of the war, and that is what we will do,” Reuters quoted Netanyahu.
He had also reportedly told US president Joe Biden that Israel would resume its Gaza operation after the “imminent” end of the four-day ceasefire.
The White House welcomed the agreement to extend the truce, saying it was hopeful the humanitarian pause would continue for longer still.
“Of course we welcome the announcement,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “We would of course hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages.”
It remains to be seen whether Israel will bow to domestic and international pressure and indefinitely stall its military operations in Gaza to secure the release of all hostages, or risk international anger by resuming its bombardment of the Gaza Strip after the truce ends on Wednesday.
(With inputs from agencies)
Watch Netanyahu tells Biden Israel will resume Gaza operation after truce