Gaza Strip

In a major diplomatic effort, Egypt and Qatar have succeeded in temporarily extending the ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza. The extension, as per a social media post by a Qatar official, is for two days — in addition to the previous four days.

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Four plus two days

The truce extension comes as the initial four-day agreement was set to expire. 

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Taking to social media platform X, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari wrote "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 statement

Qatar, with the support of Egypt and the United States, had for days been engaged in intense negotiations to establish and prolong the truce in Gaza.

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Hamas confirms

The extension, as per an Al Jazeera report, has been confirmed by militant group Hamas.

"Hamas announced that an agreement has been reached with the brothers in Qatar and Egypt for an extension of the temporary humanitarian pause for an additional two days, with the same conditions as the previous truce," said the group in a statement, as reported by AFP.

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The terms of the truce

During the course of the initial truce, a total of 50 civilian hostages — including women and children — were expected to be released.

In exchange, Israel had agreed to release 150 Palestinian prisoners. Additionally, humanitarian aid was to be allowed into the war-torn region.

The first three days of the truce, as per AFP, saw Hamas release 58 hostages — including 39 Israeli hostages, along with 17 Thais, one Filipino and one dual Russian-Israeli national. On the other hand, in exchange, Israel released 117 Palestinian prisoners.

The truce was set to end on Monday (Nov 27) night. It marks a pause in the seven-week conflict that has inflicted significant casualties and destruction in the Palestinian enclave.

(With inputs from agencies)