Qatar says Israel-Hamas truce extended two days

Israel-Hamas War: Palestinians walk among the rubble, as they inspect houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Hamas and Israe.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said that the truce in Gaza has been extended for two more days. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said on X, (formerly Twitter), “The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip.”

Qatar, along with Egypt, has been the key mediator in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The announcement comes on the final day of a four day truce between the two sides.

More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two thirds of them women and minors while some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas.

Read more: Ex White House doctor on Joe Biden’s ‘bad’ health: ‘This man can’t do the job’

What Hamas said on the two-day truce?

Hamas said that 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 told news agency Reuters.

Will there be more exchange of hostages?

Israel and Hamas are preparing for a fourth exchange of hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 more hostages — 14 Israelis and three Thais — in a third exchange. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. Of the roughly 240 hostages captured by Hamas, 62 have been released, one was freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead inside Gaza. As a result of parallel negotiations, a total of 17 Thais, one Filipino and one dual Russian-Israeli national have also been released by Hamas.

Read more news like this on HindustanTimes.com