The Israeli-Hamas humanitarian ceasefire was extended early Thursday morning, just before the six-day truce was supposed to expire.
“The operational pause will continue in light of the mediators’ efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework,” the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) announced on X, formerly Twitter. The announcement came minutes before the expiration of the truce.
According to a Qatari foreign ministry official, the ceasefire conditions, including the cessation of hostilities and the introduction of humanitarian supplies, remain unchanged.
Majid bin Muhammad Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said the one-day extension was agreed with "under the same previous terms."
“The Palestinian and Israeli sides had reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for an additional day,” Mr. Al-Ansari said.
In addition, the Qatari official stated that the discussions are continuing in the intention of securing a lasting truce in Gaza, where the Hamas terror group governs. After the interim truce expires, Israel has stated that it would resume its military attack in Gaza to neutralize Hamas.
The last-minute agreement allows for one more day of talks to continue the swap of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants last month for Palestinian detainees in Israel.
Humanitarian assistance has also been trucked into war-torn Gaza during the ceasefire, where 2.3 million people have been evacuated amid airstrikes and a military onslaught in response to Hamas' murderous rampage in southern Israel.
Hamas released 16 hostages in exchange for 30 Palestinian captives on Wednesday.
According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas has supplied a new list of women and children's hostages for release. According to the statement, their families have been notified.
“A short while ago, Israel received a list of women and children, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, and therefore the pause will resume,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, an Israeli official repeated that the truce will be extended for one day for every ten Israeli captives released.
Earlier, Hamas stated that Israel had rejected their offer of releasing seven women and children, as well as the remains of three deceased captives, as part of the ten hostages it would free.
Hamas claimed Israel's assault of the enclave for the deaths of three Israeli captives, including the youngest prisoner, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas.
Both Israel and Hamas had stated that they were ready to resume combat prior to the accord.
According to Reuters, 97 captives have been released since the truce began. According to the Israeli military, 145 captives remain in Gaza.
Officials added that two Russian people and four Thai citizens were released outside the terms of the accord on Wednesday night, while the 10 Israeli citizens freed included five dual nationalities. They included a minor Dutch dual citizen, three German dual citizens, and one US dual citizen.
Following the terrorist group's lethal Oct. 7 strike, Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas. According to Israel, Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and abducted 240 captives during the horrific spree.
Prior to the truce, Israel bombarded the region for seven weeks, resulting in over 15,000 Palestinian injuries, according to the coastal strip's Hamas-led health officials.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv early Thursday, local time, on his third trip to the region since the Oct. 7 strike, to negotiate the extension of the cease-fire.
Following the release of Israeli-American Liat Beinin on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden stated he was resolved "to bring every hostage home and to get more aid to the innocent people of Gaza."
The US is pressing Israel to reduce the battle zone and designate safe zones for Palestinian civilians during Israeli operations in southern Gaza, in order to avoid a recurrence of the high death toll in the north.
On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a "epic humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire to replace the interim truce.
