The truce agreed by Israel and the Islamist group Hamas has reached its fourth day with the uncertainty of whether the ceasefire will finally be extended for longer, a possibility contemplated in the agreement that both parties reached last week.
Last Friday at 7:00 local time (5:00 GMT) it came into force a four day truce which included the release of 50 Israeli captives for the release of 150 Palestinians and that opened the door to an extension of up to ten days, if Hamas continued to allow the departure of at least 10 hostages per day.
Both the Islamist group and the Israeli Government publicly expressed this Sunday their willingness to extend the agreement, something that has not yet materialized.
Yesterday, Hamas issued a statement in which it expressed the will to extend the agreement further of the four days agreed so far.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas is trying to extend the truce after the end of the four-day period, seriously trying to increase the number of detainees released, as established in the humanitarian truce agreement,” the Islamist group announced on Telegram.
Shortly after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and conveyed to him that welcomes the possibility of extending the current pact.
Israel will continue attacking Gaza after truce
However, he added that after this temporary ceasefire Israel would continue attacking with force until they achieve their objectives in the war.
Furthermore, the international community is clamoring for the extension of the truce.
This is what has been expressed by the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbergwho asked this Monday that the military pause be extended to allow the release of more hostages and “much-needed relief” for Gaza’s civilian population.
“I ask for an extension of the pause (in hostilities). This would allow much-needed relief and free more hostages,” declared the Norwegian politician at a press conference prior to the meeting of foreign ministers of the Atlantic Alliance to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels.
In Israel, civilian pressure for the Government and the Army to do everything in their power to return all the hostages to Israel is increasing, as was evident last Saturday in Tel Aviv, where thousands of people gathered. on the occasion of the 50 days of war to once again request the release of the captives.
Until now, the exchange of kidnapped people for prisoners has occurred punctuallywith the exception of a tense delay that occurred on Saturday, after Hamas denounced an alleged breach of the agreement by Israel.
58 hostages freed by Hamas
In three days, Hamas has transferred 39 Israeli hostages to the Red Cross as part of the agreement with the Netanyahu Executive, in addition to another 19 people not included in the pact, of which 17 are Thai, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli.
Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7 after an attack by the Islamist group that included the launching of more than 4,000 rockets and the infiltration of some 3,000 militiamen who They killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 240 in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s air, naval and ground forces have since counterattacked on the Palestinian enclave, where there are already more than 14,800 dead, most of them children and women, and estimates that more than 7,000 are missing under the rubbleso the death toll could be even higher.