Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the current ceasefire by another two days.
The original four-day truce was expected to end Tuesday morning to allow for a delicate exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The extension was announced today by a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman. Qatar brokered the original four-day ceasefire in which 50 Israelis taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, and 150 Palestinian prisoners—all women and children or teens—would be released.
The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip.
— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) November 27, 2023
Israel already indicated that it would extend the ceasefire by one day for every ten additional hostages released, but President Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel’s campaign to eradicate Hamas will continue once the ceasefire ends.
Seventeen Israeli hostages and 69 Palestinians were released yesterday, while 248 trucks of desperately-needed humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire began.
