People wave Israeli flags following the release of hostages who were seized during the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and held in the Gaza Strip, in Ofakim, Israel, Nov. 30, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire for a seventh day, while mediators pressed on with talks to extend the truce further to free more hostages and let aid reach Gaza.
The truce has halted bombing and allowed some humanitarian aid into Gaza after weeks of Israeli air strikes and ground operations against Hamas targets following the Palestinian terror group’s deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Hamas claimed responsibility for a deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem, which Israel called further proof of the need to destroy the terrorists, although there were no signs of this scuppering the Gaza truce or release of hostages.
Israel, which has demanded Hamas release at least 10 hostages per day to keep the ceasefire going, said it received a list at the last minute of those who would go free on Thursday, allowing it to call off plans to resume fighting at dawn.
“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,” the Israeli military said in a statement, released minutes before the truce was due to expire at 0500 GMT.
Hamas, which freed 16 hostages on Wednesday while Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners, also said the truce would continue for a seventh day.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Israel during his third visit to the Middle East since the war began, said the truce was “producing results. It’s important, and we hope it can continue.”
“We have seen over the last week the very positive development of hostages coming home, being reunited with their families. And that should continue today,” he said. “It’s also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately.”
US officials said Blinken also told the Israelis to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians once the war resumes.
Egypt’s state media body said Egyptian and Qatari mediators were working to negotiate a further extension of the truce for two days.
So far terrorists have released 97 hostages during the truce: 70 Israeli women and children, each freed in return for three Palestinian women and teenage detainees, plus 27 foreign hostages freed under parallel agreements with their governments.
With fewer Israeli women and children left in captivity, extending the truce could require setting new terms for the release of Israeli men, including soldiers.
Shortly after the agreement, two Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop during morning rush hour at the entrance to Jerusalem, killing at least three people. Both attackers were “neutralized,” police said.
“This event proves again how we must not show weakness, that we must speak to Hamas only through [rifle] scopes, only through war,” said Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at the site of the attack.
Hamas said the attackers were its members, and its armed wing claimed responsibility for the attack in response “to the occupation’s crimes of killing children and women in Gaza.”
But neither side appeared to treat the attack as an explicit renunciation of the truce. A Palestinian official familiar with the truce talks said its terms did not apply to what he characterized as responses to Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, in response to the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists who killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages.
Until the truce, Israel bombarded the territory for seven weeks. Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say thousands of Gazans have been killed during the Israeli military campaign, although experts have cast doubt on the reliability of their figures.
According to the United Nations, up to 80 percent of Gazans have been forced from their homes, including nearly all residents of the northern half, which Israel ordered completely evacuated to target Hamas. Once the truce is over, Israel is expected to extend its ground campaign into the south.
The United States, which has strongly backed its ally so far, is urging Israel to narrow the zone of combat and clarify where Palestinian civilians can seek safety during any Israeli operation in southern Gaza, US officials said on Wednesday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday the Gaza Strip was in the midst of an “epic humanitarian catastrophe,” and he and others called for a full ceasefire to replace the temporary truce. Israel rejects a permanent ceasefire as benefiting Hamas, a position backed by Washington.
Jordan was hosting a conference attended by the main UN, regional, and international relief agencies on Thursday to coordinate aid to Gaza.
The post Israel, Hamas Extend Gaza Truce by One Day in Last-Minute Deal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
