An agreement has been reached to extend the truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas by two more days, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Monday on X.
The announcement comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call on Monday with the prime minister of Qatar, which helped broker the original four-day truce, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Egypt had said earlier that there were ongoing efforts to extend the pause by two days.
The four-day truce in Gaza, which was slated to end on Tuesday, marked the first major diplomatic breakthrough in the conflict, bringing temporary respite for Palestinians in the besieged enclave and allowing the release of 40 Israeli hostages.
Hamas said it agreed with Qatar and Egypt, to extend the truce for an additional two days “under the same conditions reached before.”
Mark Regev, the senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed to CNN’s Dana Bash that a two-day extension had been reached but will not go into effect until the hostages set for release on Monday are freed.
Regev said that under the agreement Hamas will release 10 hostages each day.
“For every 10 hostages released, we’re willing to give an extension of another day, and if Hamas will release Israeli hostages as agreed we will extend — that’s the bottom line,” Regev said.
Regev said he believes the hostages released over the next two days would be women and children.
“My understanding is that there’s still enough women and children in Gaza held by Hamas for the next 20,” Regev said.
Regev credited US President Joe Biden for helping arrange the parameters of the deal.
“These were negotiated with the help of President Biden and we thank him for putting his effort and his office behind these arrangements. I don’t think we would have reached the deal without his input,” he said.
In a statement, Biden praised the extension and said he has been “deeply engaged” as the truce has played out. He went on to thank the leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt “for their commitment to this process and in reaching the agreement for an extension.”
“We will not stop until all of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released,” he added.
The initial deal to secure the release of 50 women and children hostages was struck with the understanding that the cessation in fighting could be extended by additional days if Hamas was able to produce additional hostages, as CNN has previously reported.
Israeli and US officials believed that there were more women and children being held in captivity than 50, but agreed to the terms of the deal as Hamas insisted that it needed to use the pause in fighting to gather up additional hostages.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby welcomed news of the extension of the truce Monday, saying that “Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children over the next two days.” The White House also said they “hope to see” the pause extended further.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the prime minister of Qatar held a call with President Biden. This has been corrected.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
News Related-
The best Walmart Cyber Monday deals 2023
-
Jordan Poole took time to showboat and got his shot blocked into the stratosphere
-
The Top Canadian REITs to Buy in November 2023
-
OpenAI’s board might have been dysfunctional–but they made the right choice. Their defeat shows that in the battle between AI profits and ethics, it’s no contest
-
Russia-Ukraine Drone Warfare Rages With Dozens Headed for Moscow, Amid Deadly Winter Storm
-
Trump tells appeals court that threats to judge and clerk in NY civil fraud trial do not justify gag order
-
Can Anyone Take Paxlovid for Covid? Doctors Explain.
-
Google this week will begin deleting inactive accounts. Here's how to save yours.
-
How John Tortorella's Culture Extends from the Philadelphia Flyers to the AHL Phantoms
-
Tri-Cities' hatcheries report best Coho return in years
-
Wild release Dean Evason of head coaching duties
-
Air New Zealand’s Cyber Monday Sale Has the 'Lowest Fares of 2023' to Auckland, Sydney, and More
-
NDP tells Liberals to sweeten the deal if pharmacare legislation is delayed
-
'1,000 contacts with a club': Tiger Woods breaks down his typical tournament prep to college kids in fascinating video