GAZA/JERUSALEM -Reuters/AFP/UNS: Israel and Hamas agreed on Thursday to extend the ceasefire in their war by at least one more day, minutes before the six-day truce was due to expire.
Israel’s military said in a statement the truce will continue as mediators sought to release more hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The truce, extended from its initial four days, has brought the first respite in the bombardment of Gaza with much of the coastal territory of 2.3 million having been reduced to wasteland in response to a deadly rampage by Hamas militants into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
“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,” said the Israeli statement, released minutes before the temporary truce was due to expire.
Hamas, which freed 16 hostages in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday, said in a statement that the truce would continue for a seventh day.
The militant group earlier said Israel had refused to receive a further seven women and children and the bodies of three other hostages in exchange for extending the truce. Both sides had said they were ready to resume fighting.
Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, in response to the Oct. 7 rampage by the militant group, when Israel says gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages.
Before the truce, Israel bombarded the territory for seven weeks and killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the coastal strip.
Number of people wounded in Jerusalem shooting rises to seven
At least seven people were wounded in a shooting attack in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said. Police said that the two suspected attackers “were neutralised on the spot”.
A large number of ambulances and police converged on the scene of the shooting, which happened during morning rush hour at one of the entrances to the city.
Israeli media reported that two shooters opened fire near a bus stop. Magen David Adom said that two of the wounded were in critical condition.
Israel says it received new list of hostages to be released
The Israeli government said it has received a new list of women and children hostages in the Gaza Strip to be released by Hamas on Thursday in exchange for a one-day extension of the truce.
“A short time ago, Israel was given a list of women and children in accordance with the terms of the agreement, and therefore the truce will continue,” said the statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, without specifying the number of hostages to be released.
Mediator Qatar confirms Israel-Hamas truce extended until Friday
A truce between Israel and Hamas will be extended by one day, mediating nation Qatar confirmed on Thursday, as a six-day humanitarian pause in Gaza was set to end.
“Palestinian and Israeli sides have reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip for an additional day under the existing conditions, which are a cessation of all military activities and the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed Al Ansari said in a statement.
He added that the truce would operate “within the framework of the joint mediation of the State of Qatar with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America”.
Qatar has been engaged in intense negotiations, with support from Egypt and the United States, to extend the truce in Gaza, which was due to end on Thursday morning.
Hamas says it agrees to extend truce with Israel
The Hamas militant group said on Thursday it had agreed to extend a truce with Israel in Gaza for a seventh day.
Israel’s military said earlier the truce with Hamas will be extended to allow mediators to continue work to free hostages held in Gaza.
Israeli army says Gaza truce has been extended
Israel’s military says the truce with Hamas will continue. Hamas has yet to release a statement.
US top diplomat Blinken visits Israel to discuss Gaza truce, aid
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived on Thursday in Tel Aviv where he was expected to meet with Israeli leaders to discuss extending Israel’s temporary truce with Hamas militants and boosting humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
