Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend their temporary truce for two more days, officials said Monday — hours before the current peace pause was set to expire.
Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, who have been leading the peace talks between Israel and Hamas, said they have secured a deal to prolong the cease-fire in Gaza until Wednesday.
Hamas noted that the extension will follow the rules previously laid out in the initial four-day deal, meaning the terrorist will release at least 20 more hostages in exchange for the additional two days of peace.
The extension would also see three Palestinian prisoners in Israel released per every hostage freed.
While Israel has yet to comment on the extension, its leadership previously agreed to extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages freed.
The new deal comes ahead of the latest batch of hostages set to be released Monday, with Hamas looking to free 11 Israelis and the Jewish state set to free 33 Palestinians.
Under the cease-fire that began Thursday, hostages have been freed daily by Hamas, while Israel has released Palestinian prisoners and allowed more aid to the Gaza Strip.
The continued diplomacy between Israel and Hamas comes as a relief to world leaders who have been advocating for a longer cease-fire in Gaza.
The Israel-Hamas war has seen the death of more than 1,200 Israelis and more than 14,000 Palestinians, an unprecedented loss of life in the decades of conflict between the two groups.
Speaking to reporters in the White House on Sunday, President Biden said he had been in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advocate for extending the humanitarian pause.
“That’s our goal, to keep this pause going beyond [Monday],” he said, adding that he wanted to see more hostages freed and more aid to arrive to Gaza’s civilians.
The president’s plea came as Hamas on Sunday released its first American hostage included in the cease-fire agreement, 4-year-old Abigail Edan.
But Netanyahu has reiterated the temporary peace in Gaza will be just that, as his nation remains committed to eradicating Hamas.
“We have three goals for this war: eliminating Hamas, returning all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza does not become a threat to the State of Israel again,” Netanyahu said during his first visit to the Palestinian enclave during the war Sunday.
“We will continue until the end, until victory.,” he added.
With Post wires