As Israel and Hamas entered the fourth and final day of a temporary cease-fire that began on Friday, a fourth hostage exchange is in the works as mediators hope to extend the pause in fighting.
On Sunday, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners and Hamas freed 17 hostages — 14 Israelis and three Thai nationals, The Associated Press reported.
A fourth exchange is expected Monday.
Among the hostages released by Hamas on Sunday was Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old dual Israeli-U.S. citizen, according to The New York Times.
How many hostages have been released by Hamas?
So far, 62 of the approximately 240 hostages taken by Hamas have been released. One additional hostage was previously freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead in Gaza, per AP News.
Will the cease-fire continue? Qatar announces two-day extension
Hamas and Israel agreed to extend the cease-fire by two days, Qatar’s foreign ministry announced Monday.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari released a statement announcing the deal on social media:
“The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” Ansari stated.
The four-day pause in fighting was set to expire after Monday, but both Hamas and Israel have indicated they would be willing to extend the cease-fire.
In a statement Sunday, Hamas said it hoped to extend the pause, while Israel said it would extend the pause by one day for every 10 hostages released.
President Biden calls for pause in fighting to continue
President Joe Biden called for an extension of the four-day cease-fire Sunday.
“To keep this pause in fighting going beyond tomorrow is our goal — so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief to those in need,” Biden stated.
White House officials confirmed that Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked Sunday about the pause in fighting.
Netanyahu emphasized that a ground operation in Gaza would continue, telling Biden that “at the end of the deal, we are returning full power to carry out our aims: destroy Hamas, ensure that Gaza won’t return to what it was and of course to free all of our hostages,” The Times of Israel reported.