Hamas said it would extend a four-day lull in fighting with Israel as the last group of hostages and Palestinian prisoners is due to be released under a ceasefire that expires Monday night.
Israel had previously offered to agree to an additional day for every 10 more hostages released, releasing three times as many Palestinian prisoners each time.
On Sunday, Hamas released 17 people, including a four-year-old Israeli-American girl. This brings the total number of people freed by the militant group since Friday to 58. Another 11 hostages will be released on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
Under the agreement, Israel released 39 teenage Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, bringing the total number of Palestinians released since the ceasefire began to 117.
The ceasefire agreement took effect on Friday after weeks of negotiations between the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
Israel and Hamas have raised concerns about lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners due to be released on Monday, an official briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The official added that Qatari mediators are working to resolve issues and avoid delays.
“There is a small problem with today’s lists. “The Qataris are working with both sides to resolve the issue and avoid delays,” the official said.
In the last three days of the ceasefire, Israel and Hamas announced the names of the people they would release at least 12 hours before the exchange.
Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the more than 40 other women and children held captive in Gaza were unlikely to be held by Hamas, adding that the ceasefire could be extended if Hamas could take advantage of the break to find these hostages. . .
“If they have more wives and children, the period will be extended,” he told the Financial Times.
“We don’t yet have clear information about how many of them can be found, because… . . one of the goals [of the pause] You [Hamas] Hurry up to find the remaining missing people.”
About 240 people were captured by Hamas in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,200 people.
US President Joe Biden expressed hope that the ceasefire will continue until the hostages are released. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had spoken with Biden about releasing the hostages, adding that he would welcome an extension of the ceasefire if more hostages could be freed.
But Israel said it remained committed to destroying Hamas’ military capabilities and that the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip would likely spread into the south of the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken refuge.
Mr. Netanyahu said that once the ceasefire ends, “we will return with full force to achieve our goals: eliminating Hamas, to ensure that Gaza does not return to what it was; and, of course, the release of all our hostages.”
Families of the hostages held mass marches and demonstrations. Netanyahu is accused of not doing enough to bring her home. Growing pressure could prompt him to extend the ceasefire and make further concessions to Hamas.
The freed hostages remain largely hidden from the public, but details about their captivity are beginning to emerge.
Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released on Friday, said they were not fed regularly and had lost weight. One reported eating mostly bread and rice, sleeping on a makeshift bed made from chairs pushed together, and waiting for hours before going to the bathroom.
The Palestinian prisoners released on Sunday were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones during clashes with Israeli forces.
Omar Abdullah Al Haj, 17, one of the released prisoners, said he was kept in the dark about events in the outside world.
“I can’t believe I’m free now, but my joy is incomplete because our brothers are still in prison, and then there’s all the news about Gaza that I need to know now,” he told Reuters.
More than 14,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed since the start of the current war, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The lull in fighting has brought some respite to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents after weeks of brutal Israeli bombing that forced three-quarters of the population from their homes and leveled entire neighborhoods.
Additional agency reporting
Source: I News
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