Israel and Hamas extend temporary truce until Friday
Israel and Hamas will continue, both sides said Thursday, moments before the deal was due to expire, though details of any official agreement remained unclear. Minutes before the halt in fighting was due to expire at 0500GMT, Israel's military said the "operational pause" would be extended, without specifying for how long.
“In light of the mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework, the operational pause will continue," it said. Also Read: Israel under international pressure to extend ceasefire with Hamas Hamas meanwhile said there was an agreement to "extend the truce for a seventh day," without further details.
Qatar, which has led the truce negotiations, confirmed the pause had been extended until Friday. Also Read: Israel-Palestine war Day 55: 10 updates to know; high death toll, hostage releases and more There had been pressure to extend the pause to allow more hostage releases and additional aid into devastated Gaza, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arriving in Israel for talks Wednesday night.
The truce has brought a temporary halt to fighting that began on October 7 when Hamas militants poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240, according to Israeli authorities. Israel's subsequent air and ground campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas officials, and reduced large parts of the north of the territory to rubble.
The truce agreement allows for extensions if Hamas can release another 10 hostages a day, and a source close to the group said Wednesday that it was willing to prolong the pause by four days. But with just an hour to go
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