Israel-Hamas truce extended by two days

Palestinians spend time on a beach during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip November 25, 2023. Reuters

Hamas said on Monday it had agreed with Qatar and Egypt to a two-day extension of the truce with Israel under the same conditions as the previous four-day ceasefire.

“An agreement has been reached with the brothers in Qatar and Egypt to extend the temporary humanitarian truce by two more days, with the same conditions as in the previous truce,” a Hamas official said in a phone call with Reuters.

“An agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said in post on social media platform X

As part of the truce deal, Hamas has so far released 39 Israeli hostages, including a four-year-old girl orphaned by the group’s October 7 attack, with more expected later Monday.

Israel has freed 117 Palestinian prisoners in exchange under the terms of the agreement. A further 19 foreign nationals have also been released from Gaza under separate arrangements.