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Israel and Hamas agreed on Monday to extend their fragile truce for two more days, an act of continued cooperation that could allow for additional aid to flow into Gaza and the release of more hostages, prisoners and detainees than initially expected, the New York Times reported on Monday.
The extension, coming as the initial four-day truce was set to expire on Tuesday, was announced by Qatari mediators a few hours before 11 more Israeli hostages — including 3-year-old twins — were released into the custody of Israel’s military late Monday.
Hours later, a Red Cross bus of Palestinian prisoners and detainees arrived in the West Bank town of Ramallah as crowds cheered their arrival, according to The Associated Press.
It was the fourth swap of prisoners and hostages, one for each day of the cease-fire so far. The Israeli prime minister’s office said the released hostages included a 12-year-old boy and multiple members of four other families. The Israeli military said that they would undergo initial medical assessments and that its troops would accompany them until they were reunited with their families.
The pause has marked the longest break in fighting in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, when gunmen from Hamas and other armed groups launched a deadly attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 240 people hostage, according to Israeli officials. Israel responded with airstrikes, a siege and a ground invasion that has encircled Gaza City.
An extension of the cease-fire deal would prolong a pause in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 13,000 people and created a humanitarian disaster for its 2.2 million residents. Hamas said the two-day extension would carry the same terms as the initial pause.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government, which had offered to extend the pause by one day for every additional 10 hostages released. A spokesman for the Israeli military, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, urged patience on Monday night.
“We’re managing a framework through mediators, around the clock,” he said. “Nothing is final until it actually happens.”
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has expressed openness to an extension of the truce, but has also made clear that he intends for Israel to resume fighting after the pause ends in order to “eliminate” Hamas.
Under the initial deal, Hamas agreed to release 50 women and children taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack. In return, Israel agreed to free 150 women and minors held in Israeli jails, among other terms.
In Washington, the Biden administration welcomed the announcement of the additional two-day pause, said John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, noting that the four-day cease-fire had already resulted in a surge in humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
“We’re grateful that we’ve got an extra two days to work with here,” Mr. Kirby said. He added that the United States would like to “see that extended further until all the hostages are released.”
Diaa Rashwan, the head of the State Information Service in Egypt, which is also mediating in the talks between Israel and Hamas, said earlier Monday that a two-day extension would include the release each day of 10 women and children being held hostage in Gaza in exchange for 30 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
Other terms of the current cease-fire, including the entry of more medicine, food and fuel supplies into Gaza and restrictions on Israeli flights over the territory, are to continue during the extension, Mr. Rashwan said.
Monday’s exchange was expected to include 33 Palestinians held in Israel, Mr. Rashwan said.
Before Monday, Hamas had released 39 Israeli hostages under the deal, while Israel had freed 117 Palestinian prisoners. An additional 19 hostages in Gaza — 17 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli dual citizen — have been released since Friday through separate negotiations.
The shaky truce appeared to hit a snag on Monday as both sides took issue with the names presented by the other for the fourth day of exchanges under the deal, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, but the dispute was soon resolved.
The cease-fire deal initially included the release of 50 women and children because that was the number Hamas had been able to locate, the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday.
More than 40 women and children are being held hostage by groups other than Hamas, Mr. al-Thani said, adding that Israel was willing to extend the cease-fire if “there’s proof” that Hamas has more women and children to release.
Israeli officials had expressed concerns to Qatar that some children were being released without their captured mothers, according to an official briefed on the talks. The official said Hamas had responded that in those cases, the mothers were being held by different groups and it would take time to get them.
以色列和哈馬斯同意將休戰期再延長兩天
以色列和哈馬斯週一同意將脆弱的休戰協議再延長兩天,這是一種持續合作的行為,可以讓更多的援助流入加沙,並釋放比最初預期更多的人質、囚犯和被拘留者。
最初為期四天的休戰將於週二到期,卡塔爾調解員在周一晚些時候將另外 11 名人質(包括 3 歲雙胞胎)釋放到以色列軍方拘留的幾個小時前宣布了這一延期。 。
根據美聯社報道,幾小時後,一輛載有巴勒斯坦囚犯和被拘留者的紅十字巴士抵達約旦河西岸城鎮拉馬拉,人群歡呼雀躍。
這是第四次交換囚犯和人質,迄今為止停火期間每天交換一次。 以色列總理辦公室表示,獲釋的人質包括一名 12 歲男孩和其他四個家庭的多名成員。 以色列軍方表示,他們將接受初步醫療評估,以色列軍隊將陪伴他們,直到他們與家人團聚。
據以色列官員稱,這次暫停是自10月7日以來加薩地帶戰鬥中斷時間最長的一次,當時哈馬斯和其他武裝組織的槍手對以色列南部發動了致命襲擊,造成約1200人死亡,約240人被扣為人質。 以色列的回應是空襲、圍困和地面入侵,包圍了加薩城。
延長停火協議將延長以色列對加薩走廊轟炸的暫停時間,這場轟炸已造成至少 13,000 人死亡,並給該地區 220 萬居民造成人道災難。 哈馬斯表示,延長兩天的條款將與最初的暫停相同。
以色列政府沒有立即發表評論,以色列政府表示,每增加 10 名人質獲釋,暫停時間就會延長一天。 以色列軍方發言人丹尼爾·哈加里少將週一晚上敦促大家保持耐心。
「我們正在透過調解者全天候管理一個框架,」他說。 “在事情真正發生之前,一切都不是最終的。”
以色列總理內塔尼亞胡表示對延長休戰持開放態度,但也明確表示,他打算讓以色列在休戰結束後恢復戰鬥,以「消滅」哈馬斯。
根據最初的協議,哈馬斯同意釋放 10 月 7 日襲擊中被劫為人質的 50 名婦女和兒童。 作為回報,以色列同意釋放被關押在以色列監獄的 150 名婦女和未成年人等條件。
國家安全委員會發言人約翰·F·柯比 (John F. Kirby) 表示,在華盛頓,拜登政府對宣布額外停火兩天表示歡迎,並指出四天的停火已經導致人道主義援助激增。加薩。
「我們很高興能在這裡多工作兩天,」柯比先生說。 他補充說,美國希望“看到這一情況進一步延長,直到所有人質獲釋。”
埃及國家資訊服務局局長迪亞·拉什萬(Diaa Rashwan) 也在以色列和哈馬斯之間的談判中進行斡旋,週一早些時候表示,延長兩天將包括每天釋放在加沙被扣為人質的10 名婦女和兒童。以換取以色列監獄中的 30 名巴勒斯坦被拘留者。
拉什萬表示,目前停火協議的其他條款,包括向加薩提供更多藥品、食品和燃料,以及限制以色列航班飛越該地區,將在延期期間繼續實施。
拉什萬表示,週一的交換預計將包括被關押在以色列的 33 名巴勒斯坦人。
在週一之前,哈馬斯根據協議釋放了 39 名以色列人質,而以色列則釋放了 117 名巴勒斯坦囚犯。 自周五以來,加薩另外 19 名人質——17 名泰國人、一名菲律賓人和一名俄羅斯-以色列雙重公民——已通過單獨談判獲釋。
據一位熟悉談判情況的人士透露,週一不穩定的休戰似乎遇到了障礙,雙方都對對方在協議下第四天交換的名字提出了異議,但爭端很快就得到解決。
卡達總理謝赫穆罕默德·本·阿卜杜拉赫曼·阿勒薩尼在周日發表的採訪中告訴英國《金融時報》,停火協議最初包括釋放50 名婦女和兒童,因為這是哈馬斯能夠找到的人數。 。
阿勒薩尼表示,有40 多名婦女和兒童被哈馬斯以外的團體扣為人質,並補充說,如果「有證據」表明哈馬斯有更多婦女和兒童需要釋放,以色列願意延長停火。
據一位了解談判情況的官員透露,以色列官員已向卡達表達了擔憂,因為一些兒童在沒有被俘母親的情況下被釋放。 這位官員表示,哈馬斯回應稱,在這些情況下,母親們被不同的團體關押,需要時間才能找到她們。
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