GAZA/JERUSALEM-UNS/Reuters : Egyptian, Qatari and US negotiators closed in on an extension of a four-day truce in Gaza that expires on Monday, Egyptian security sources said, amid rising international pressure to roll over a deal which has paused seven weeks of fighting.
Palestinian group Hamas is seeking a four-day extension while Israel wants day-by-day extensions, with negotiations continuing over which Palestinian prisoners would be freed, the sources said.
An Israeli official earlier reiterated Israel’s position that it would agree to an extra day of truce for each additional 10 hostages freed and to release three times the number of Palestinians each time. The number of additional days is capped at five, the official added.
A Palestinian official, familiar with the truce talks, said both Hamas and Israel had shown a positive attitude to requests to extend the pause in fighting, but added that “a final decision hasn’t yet been reached”.
On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 people, including a 4-year-old Israeli-American girl, bringing the total number the militant group has released since Friday to 58, including foreigners. Israel freed 39 teenage Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, taking the total number of Palestinians freed under the truce to 117.
Under the terms of the current deal, Hamas is due to release in total 50 Israeli women and children held hostage in Gaza, which means that 11 remained to be freed on Monday. There is no limit in the deal on the number of foreigners it can release.
An Israeli government spokesperson said on Monday that the total number of hostages still held in Gaza was now 184, including 14 foreigners and 80 Israelis with dual nationality.
Both Israel and Hamas raised concerns over Monday’s lists and Qatari mediators were working with them to resolve the issues and avoid delays, an official briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it was reviewing the list of Palestinian prisoners it had received from Hamas for release on Monday and would provide further information when possible.
Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan, speaking to Lebanon’s LBC broadcaster, said the group would try to find more hostages to release and thus prolong the truce. Hamas has previously said it is not holding all the hostages who were brought to Gaza.
Once the truce ends, Netanyahu said at the weekend, “we will return with full force to achieve our goals: the elimination of Hamas; ensuring that Gaza does not return to what it was; and of course the release of all our hostages.”
