Israel and Hamas extend ceasefire to Wednesday with more hostages due for release

Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the Gaza ceasefire by two days – Tuesday and Wednesday – during which Hamas will release 20 Israeli women and children captives seized from southern Israel by Palestinian gunmen on October 7th.

Israel is waiting for Hamas to hand over a list of 20 names. A further extension of the ceasefire is also possible, as long as Hamas continues to release hostages.

The breakthrough followed an intense diplomatic effort over the last few days from Qatar, Egypt and the US, and came just hours before the ceasefire was due to expire, in the early hours of Tuesday morning. United Nations secretary general António Guterres on Monday called for a permanent ceasefire, arguing that the “humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day”.

Israel has made clear its intention to renew its military campaign in Gaza after the ceasefire.

Israel reportedly tells Hamas it will begin military operation in Rafah if ceasefire and hostage deal not achieved in week

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[ ‘It’s beyond anything I’ve seen’: Gaza civilians are being killed at historic rate ]

[ Palestinian Authority appeals for indefinite truce in Gaza ]

The truce agreed last week was the first halt in fighting in the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages back into Gaza.

In response to that attack, Israel has bombarded the enclave and mounted a ground offensive in the north. Some 14,800 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza health authorities say, and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant told a group of soldiers in Gaza on Monday that when the fighting resumes, “it will be bigger and take place throughout the Gaza Strip”. Israel is expected to target Khan Yunis, the largest city in southern Gaza, where it is believed the Hamas leadership is now located, along with many of the hostages.

One of the hostages released in recent days said that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar spoke to the hostages in a tunnel, believed to be in the Khan Yunis area, and told them, in Hebrew, that they would not be harmed.

The breakthrough extending the truce came as the last batch of Israeli hostages under the initial deal was released by Hamas. Nine children and two mothers, all from kibbutz Nir Oz, were handed over to Red Cross representatives, taken to the Rafah crossing and from there to Israel, where they were due to be transferred by helicopter to a Tel Aviv hospital.

[ White House welcomes extension of humanitarian pause in Gaza ]

[ Israel-Hamas war: truce to be extended for two more days, says Qatar ]

Six Thai hostages were also released by Hamas on Monday and Israel was later due to free 33 Palestinians – 30 minors and three women.

In total, 50 Israeli women and children captives have been released over the last four days in four instalments, including nine-year-old Irish-Israeli national Emily Hand, who returned to Israel on Saturday night. One of the hostages, an 84-year-old woman, is fighting for her life after not receiving vital medication while in Hamas captivity.

Israel has released 150 Palestinian prisoners, most of them from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had arrested at least 71 Palestinians from across the occupied West Bank since Friday on unspecified charges. The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoner affairs gave a higher number, saying Monday that Israeli forces had arrested at least 112 Palestinians since Friday, including 60 in the past day.

Under an agreement Israel and Hamas have honoured since Friday, Israel has freed 117 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, with 33 more expected to be released Monday night.

The Israeli military has escalated its night-time raids across the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Hamas-led attacks October 7th, saying that it had arrested at least 2,000 Palestinians in that period. The military has said that the arrests are part of a counterterrorism operation against Hamas throughout the territory.

The arrests included “children, the elderly, women, and hundreds of former prisoners,” the Palestinian commission said in a statement Monday.

Diplomatic tensions between Israel and Ireland continued on Monday as Irish Ambassador Sonya McGuinness was summoned by Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen for a “reprimand” in the wake of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s comments on Emily Hand’s release.

Ms McGuinness expressed “surprise on the part of the Irish Government” at how the comments had been received. Mr Varadkar had said in relation to the return of the girl that an “innocent child who was lost has now been found”, drawing condemnation from political and military figures in Israel. – additional reporting from Reuters