Negotiations to continue the temporary ceasefire are continuing on the eve of its conclusion. Israel has offered the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas an "option" to extend the truce that began Friday and is due to end Tuesday at 7 a.m. (6 a.m. in Paris), an Israeli government spokesman said Monday.
"We want to receive another 50 hostages beyond tonight," Levy said. According to an Egyptian security source, both sides are working on the details of an extension. "Israel insists on renewing the truce day by day," while foreign mediators — Qatar, the United States and Egypt — are proposing a pause in the "multi-day" fighting, she said.
Pressures for an extension
A provision of the initial deal allows it to be renewed to free a dozen hostages daily in the hands of Hamas, in exchange for the release of about thirty Palestinian prisoners. On Sunday, Hamas, which has been in power in Gaza since 2007, said it was "seeking to extend the truce" in order to "increase the number of prisoners released." A source close to Hamas said the Palestinian movement was in favor of an extension of "two to four days."
The Israeli government is under intense pressure to extend the truce and thus allow for the release of more hostages, which has been forcefully demanded by a public opinion traumatized by the Hamas attack. After U.S. President Joe Biden, the European Union and NATO called on Monday for an extension of the truce. A further reprieve would "provide more aid to people in dire need and secure the release of more hostages," according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
A temporary truce
Both sides also insist that hostilities are far from over. "The campaign to end Hamas and bring all our hostages home will resume as soon as the truce ends," Levy said. "As soon as the framework (of the agreement) is completed, Israel will fully pursue its three goals: eliminating Hamas, ensuring that the Gaza Strip will never be a threat to Israel's security, and freeing all hostages."
Hamas' military wing, for its part, repeats that its fighters are "ready" if hostilities were to resume. The agreement provides for the release of 50 hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for 150 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. A total of 58 hostages have been freed since Friday: 39 Israelis or dual nationals and 19 foreigners released outside the agreement.
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In any case, an extension of the agreement would make it possible to alleviate part of the humanitarian disaster in the coastal enclave. As part of the truce, more than 200 trucks loaded with aid have been able to enter the Gaza Strip since Friday, via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and some of them have reached the north, the part of the territory most devastated by the war.
A total of 248 trucks of humanitarian aid have already arrived in Gaza, according to the UN, including 61 vehicles that have delivered medical supplies, food and water to the north of the territory. The humanitarian situation on the ground remains "dangerous" and the needs "unprecedented", the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Sunday.