Efforts underway to extend ceasefire in Gaza as Israel and Hamas plan fourth hostage exchange

Israel-Hamas war: Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City on the northern Gaza strip following weeks of Israeli bombardment, as a four-day ceasefire took effect on November 24, 2023. AFP

International efforts are underway to prolong a cease-fire in Gaza, marking a temporary halt to the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades. The cease-fire, set to expire after Monday, has been a result of several weeks of indirect negotiations involving the Egypt, Qatar and. Both Hamas and Israel express hopes for an extension, with Israel linking it to the release of hostages.

Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas has also said it hopes to extend the four-day truce, which came into effect Friday.

But Israel also says it remains committed to crushing Hamas' military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza, news wire Associated Press reported. That would likely mean expanding its ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into United Nations shelters, and where dire conditions persist despite the ramping up of aid delivery under the truce.

The release of dozens of people who were among the roughly 240 captured by Hamas in its wide-ranging Oct 7 attack into southern Israel has rallied Israelis behind calls to return the rest of them. Sixty-two hostages have been released, one was freed by Israeli forces, and two were found dead inside Gaza.

"We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing," two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement.

Families of the hostages have led mass marches and demonstrations accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not doing enough to bring them home, and the mounting pressure could push him to extend the truce and make additional concessions to Hamas. But Israel also remains deeply shaken by the Oct 7 attack and determined to remove the militant group as a threat.

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"At the end of the day we will return every one," Netanyahu said of the hostages, as he donned body armour and paid a rare visit Sunday to troops inside Gaza. "We are continuing until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us."

On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis, in a third exchange under the four-day truce. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.

Those released Sunday included nine children and three Thai nationals. With a total of 17 freed, Thailand said it was pursuing the safe return of the 15 remaining Thai hostages, who were the largest single group of foreigners held by the militant group. Thais working in Israel are mostly employed as semi-skilled farm labourers.

The Palestinian prisoners released were mostly teenagers. Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation.

A fourth exchange is expected on Monday, for a total of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinians as agreed upon in the cease-fire deal. (With inputs from agencies)