The humanitarian truce and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, which was implemented last Friday, among other things, for the Islamist terrorist movement to release hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and which had an expiration date of this Thursday, was extended for at least one more day.
This was confirmed by Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari. "The Palestinian and Israeli sides have reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for one more day (Thursday) under the same conditions as before," the Qatari official, whose country is the main mediator between Israel and Hamas and hosts the political office of the Palestinian Islamist group, said in a statement.
He also pointed out that these conditions "are a (temporary) ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid", and stressed that the prolongation of the pause "has been achieved within the framework of the joint mediation of the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States".
At the same time, Majid al-Ansari "confirmed the continued intensification of efforts with the aim of reaching a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip," according to the official Qatari news agency, QNA.
The four-day humanitarian pause came into effect last Friday and was extended for the first time last Monday for two days.
The extension of the truce for 24 hours was announced by Qatar minutes before the temporary armistice expired at 7:00 (5:00 GMT) today.
An Israeli soldier walks through a devastated area in the Gaza Strip. Photo: EFE/ Pablo Duer
This will be the seventh day of the humanitarian pause that allowed the cessation of hostilities for the first time since October 7, when Hamas carried out a multiple attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip.
Since then, 15,000 people have been killed and 36,000 wounded by Israeli retaliatory bombardments of Gaza, where an estimated 7,000 more people are still missing, or their whereabouts are unknown or believed to be under the rubble, according to authorities in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave.
During the first six days of the truce, 210 Palestinian prisoners have been released from jails, all women and children, as part of the pact to exchange Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza for Palestinian militias, while Hamas has released 97 prisoners, including 73 Israelis and 24 foreigners.
It has also been possible for more medical aid, food and fuel to enter Gaza to assist the civilian population of the Palestinian enclave, while hundreds of Palestinians with dual nationality and citizens of other countries, as well as wounded Palestinians, have been able to leave the Strip through the Rafah land crossing. bordering Egypt.
The announcement of the extension of the pause comes just hours after the arrival in Israel of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where he plans to discuss a possible extension of the truce to secure the release of more hostages who remain in Gaza.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Tel Aviv. Photo: Saul Loeb/REUTERS
Some 145 captives are believed to still be held in the Strip, and the proposed extension of the truce would involve the release of an additional 10 people daily in exchange for Israel's release of 30 Palestinian prisoners.
With information from EFE.
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