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EXPLANER
Hamas and Qatar announce the extension of the truce, offering a well-deserved respite to the inhabitants of Gaza, braving weeks of Israeli bombardments.
Qatar and Hamas announced that the truce between Israel and the Palestinian group would be extended for two more days, a much-needed respite from incessant Israeli bombardment. Here’s what we know about the truce extension:
How did the initial truce go?
- A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar, was due to end Monday morning.
- In addition to a four-day pause in fighting, both sides agreed to release prisoners and captives. Hamas was to release 50 women and children held captive in Gaza while Israel agreed to release 150 women and children from Israeli prisons. Hamas took 240 prisoners after its deadly attack in Israel on October 7, while around 10,000 Palestinians languish in Israeli prisons, most without any charges.
- In addition, the agreement would increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been completely blocked since the beginning of October.
- Since the truce took effect on Friday, Israel has released 150 prisoners in three batches.
- Since then, Hamas has released 69 women and children, including 51 Israelis and 18 foreign nationals.
- The agreement included a one-day extension for each additional batch of 10 prisoners released by Hamas.
What have Qatar, Hamas and Israel said about this extension?
- Hours before the initial truce expired on Monday, Qatar and Hamas announced that the agreement would be extended for two days.
- “The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for two more days in the Gaza Strip,” the spokesperson for the Qatari ministry said on X of Foreign Affairs, Majed al-Ansari. formerly Twitter, Monday.
The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for two more days in the Gaza Strip.
— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) November 27, 2023
- “We have now agreed to release more hostages and extend the agreement by two days. This is good news for our people, especially for the people of Gaza,” Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Tel Aviv Tribune. “I hope we can extend it until the end of this war. We want to end the war.
- “We hope that the occupation (Israel) will respect (the agreement) in the next two days because we are looking for a new agreement, besides women and children, by which we could exchange other categories that we have,” Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said. » told Tel Aviv Tribune on Monday.
- The Israeli government has not yet officially confirmed the extension of the truce.
Which prisoners and captives can be released under the extended deal?
- Although Israel has not explicitly confirmed the truce, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on X, formerly Twitter, that 50 additional Palestinian women could be released from Israeli prisons.
- This is an addition to the list of 300 prisoners scheduled for release, published before the truce by Israel.
- Israeli Army Radio announced that Hamas had published a new list of prisoners who would be released. This is the first list resulting from the extension of the break.
- Axios, a US-based news site, reported that the list contained 10 names.
Were there any other reactions to the extension of the truce?
- The extension comes in light of negotiations between Qatar, the United States and Egypt aimed at extending the truce.
- The White House welcomed the extension of the pause, adding that it hoped Americans would be among the captives to be released in the next phase of exchanges.
- UN chief Antonio Guterres called the extension a “ray of hope and humanity” but also said two days is not enough to meet the aid needs of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
