The Israel-Hamas truce, initially set to expire, was extended by one day on Thursday, coinciding with the arrival of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Israel on Wednesday night, amid growing pressure for an extension.
A truce between Israel and Hamas was extended on Thursday just before it was due to expire, the two sides announced, with mediator Qatar reporting it would continue for one day under the same conditions that saw hostages released in exchange for prisoners.
“In light of the mediators’ efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework, the operational pause will continue,” Israel’s military said.
The announcement came hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Wednesday night amid growing pressure for an extension of the pause.
The prime minister’s office subsequently confirmed the extension, saying it had received a new list of hostages.
“A short time ago, Israel was given a list of women and children by the terms of the agreement, and therefore the truce will continue,” it said, without specifying the number of captives to be freed.
Hamas said there was an agreement to “extend the truce for a seventh day,” without further details.
It had earlier said Israel initially refused to extend the truce after it offered to hand over seven hostages and the bodies of three more.
Since the truce began on November 24, 70 Israeli hostages have been freed in return for 210 Palestinian prisoners.
Several foreigners, most of them Thais living in Israel, have been freed outside the terms of the deal.
Israel has made it clear that it sees the truce as a temporary halt intended to free hostages, but there are growing calls for a more sustained pause in fighting.
Katrine Dige Houmøller, with AFP
