The pause to the Gaza war due to expire Tuesday has been extended by two more days, Qatari and US officials said, as Israel welcomed the return of 11 captives and six foreigners.
The extension would see 20 more hostages freed: ten for every 24 hours.
Monday night’s captive release “brings a sigh of relief to our community,” said Osnat Peri, who heads Kibbutz Nir Oz. She explained that the two women and nine children who were freed were from their southern border community.
She noted that out of the remaining 160 hostages seized by Hamas and taken into Gaza on October 7, some 49 were from her Kibbutz.
“This list includes women, men, children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers.”
“We remain deeply concerned about our loved ones who are still held hostage. We demand the return of all hostages, immediately, whatever it takes,” Peri said.
PM Netanyahu: We will keep working to get everyone home
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “We’ll continue to work to bring everyone home.”
His office explained Netanyahu had left the government meeting to focus on the hostage release. It published a photograph of him on the telephone, with his glasses off, surrounded by papers.
The release took place close to 10 p.m., after hours of delay due to disagreements between Israel and Hamas over the list of captives to be freed and regarding the corresponding list of 33 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in exchange.
Hamas had initially balked at releasing two mothers, but then relented, according to KAN news.
Qatar and Egypt, which helped Hamas and Israel bridge their difference on Monday, also concluded talks to extend the original deal under whose terms 50 Israelis were freed during the last four days.
Some 200 trucks of humanitarian aid a day — including fuel, water, and medicine — entered Gaza through Egypt’s crossing at Rafah during that period. Israel also released 150 Palestinian women and minors jailed for security-related offenses during that period.
Under a separate agreement, Hamas freed one Filipino and 23 Thai citizens over the last four days, as well as one Israeli who held Russian citizenship.
US welcomes the extension, Biden was involved in the agreement
The United States welcomed the extension of the deal, which came about with heavy involvement from US President Joe Biden.
“I have remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this deal—brokered and sustained through extensive US mediation and diplomacy—can continue to deliver results,” Biden said in a statement published by the White House.
“I want to again thank Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt for their commitment to this process and in reaching the agreement for an extension over the next 48 hours.
“We will not stop until all of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released,” he said.
Biden also referenced Sunday’s release of Avigail Eden, 4, who has Israeli-American citizenship.
“I spoke with Abigail’s family following her release, and we are working closely with our Israeli partners to ensure she gets the care and support she needs as she begins to recover from this unspeakable trauma,” the president said.
Biden also pledged this commitment to help Palestinians in Gaza, explaining that the US “has led the humanitarian response into Gaza” and that it is “taking full advantage of the pause in fighting to increase the amount of humanitarian aid moving into Gaza.”
“We will continue our efforts to build a future of peace and dignity for the Palestinian people,” he said.
Kirby says the White House hopes the pause will last longer
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he hoped the pause would last beyond Thursday.
“We would hope to see the pause extended further, but that would depend on Hamas continuing to release hostages,” Kirby explained.
The government had approved a mechanism last week by which the deal could be extended beyond Tuesday morning if Hamas would provide an additional ten hostages for every 24-hour period of the extension.
Under the terms of the hostage deal’s mechanism, Israel has agreed to release three jailed Palestinian women or minors for every Israeli hostage that has been freed.
The terms of the deal allow for the release of up to 300 Palestinian prisoners and a total of 98 Israeli hostages. The mechanism of the deal is not designed to allow for the release of Israeli men and soldiers held by Hamas — including five women serving in the IDF.
The focus of the deal has been on women and children. It was estimated that some 40 children were held in Gaza; not all of them have been freed.
It is possible however, that elderly Israeli captives could be included in the deal to allow for the pause in the Gaza war to be extended even further and to give Hamas additional time to locate hostages, not all of whom have been held by the terrorist group.
Israel has been under international pressure to halt its military campaign in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s killing of over 1,200 people during its October 7 attack and its seizure of some 240 hostages.
The international community has been concerned by the high death toll, with Hamas asserting that some 14,800 Palestinians have been killed in war-related violence. It has pressed Israel to permanently halt the Gaza war.