By Tia Goldenberg and Samy Magdy - The Associated Press
Israel and Hamas appear poised to extend a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that has put a pause on their most destructive and lethal war, as both sides on Monday live out the final day of a four-day truce that has allowed the exchange of dozens of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel has said that for every 10 hostages released, it will extend the ceasefire by one more day. Hamas, for its part, has said it hopes to extend the four-day truce, which took effect on Friday after several weeks of negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
[Several families and children among the hostages freed by Hamas on Sunday]
However, Israel remains committed to crushing Hamas military forces and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza, following the October 7 terror attack in the south of the country.
That would mean expanding a ground offensive from the devastated north of Gaza to the south, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are crammed into U.N. shelters and where dire conditions persist despite increased aid entering the enclave during the truce.
If Hamas does not release more hostages, as soon as the deal expires, Israel will resume attacks with "full force," government spokesman Eylon Levy told reporters on Monday.
A Palestinian woman cooks during the truce in front of her family's building destroyed in Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.Adel Hana/AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later said negotiations were continuing for the latest hostage-for-Palestinian prisoner swap scheduled for Monday, without elaborating.
Two Egyptian officials said bilateral talks were underway to potentially extend the ceasefire for another four days. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media on the discussions.
One of the sources confided that the sides had reached an agreement, but that the violence in the West Bank is complicating the talks, as Hamas demands an end to Israeli military incursions into the territory where hundreds of Palestinians have been detained and dozens have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces since the war began.
[Hamas frees 17 hostages and Israel 39 Palestinian prisoners on third day of truce]
The release of dozens of people – mostly women and children who were among the nearly 240 captured by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7 raid that sparked the war – has mobilized Israelis to return the remaining hostages.
Sixty-two hostages have been released, almost all during the current truce. Earlier, Israeli forces released one, and two were found dead in Gaza.
"We can get all the hostages home. We have to keep pushing," two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl with dual Israeli-American citizenship who was released Sunday, said in a statement.
[They seek to extend the truce that allowed the release of Hamas hostages and Palestinian prisoners]
Hamas and other armed groups may still hold 175 hostages, enough to prolong the ceasefire for two-and-a-half weeks, but they include several soldiers and the armed groups are likely to demand more conditions for their release.
On Sunday, Hamas handed over 17 hostages, 14 of them Israelis, and Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners in the third exchange under the truce. Most of the hostages appeared to be in good physical condition.
The released Palestinian prisoners were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during clashes with Israeli forces or for minor offences.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Another 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side, most of them civilians killed in the initial attack.
The pause in the fire has given a respite to the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million residents after weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment that has driven three-quarters of the population from their homes and flattened entire neighborhoods.