Hamas is willing to extend a truce for four days and release more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a source close to the militant group said yesterday, as mediators sought a lasting halt to the conflict.
A current truce is scheduled to expire early today after a six-day pause in the conflict, sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted a devastating Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
With 60 Israeli hostages and 180 Palestinian prisoners already released and more to walk free yesterday under the agreement, Qatari mediators said they were working for a “sustainable” ceasefire.
Photo: AFP
Hamas yesterday “informed the mediators that it is willing to extend the truce for four days,” a source close to the militant group said on condition of anonymity.
Under that arrangement, “the movement would be able to release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties hold during this period, according to the terms of the existing truce,” the source added.
Quatri Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a Doha news conference on Tuesday that negotiators were seeking “a sustainable truce that will lead to further negotiations and eventually to an end ... to this war.”
A source with knowledge of the talks added yesterday that discussions were “focused on building on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal.”
After a 48-hour extension of an initial four-day truce, a new group of 12 hostages was freed from Gaza on Tuesday, while Israel released 30 Palestinians.
Masked and armed fighters from the militant groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad handed over hostages to Red Cross officials in Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
The Israeli hostages freed were all women, including 17-year-old Mia Leimberg, who returned to Israel with her mother and aunt.
The three were all abducted from kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, and the teenager was seen after her release holding her dog Bella.
The grandmother of 12-year-old Eitan Yahalomi, who was released on Monday, said the boy had been held in solitary confinement for 16 days.
“The days that he was alone were horrible,” Esther Yaeli told Israeli news Web site Walla. “Now Eitan appears very withdrawn.”
Hamas has also released a Russian-Israeli, 20 Thais and one Filipino outside the scope of the agreement.
The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that 17 of the released Thai hostages would arrive back in the kingdom today.
It said that about 13 Thais remained among the hostages held in Gaza.
Among the Palestinian prisoners freed in Tuesday’s exchange was 14-year-old Ahmad Salaima who returned to his home in East Jerusalem to cheers and hugs from relatives.
“When Ahmed was in prison, we couldn’t visit him, even though he’s the youngest Palestinian prisoner,” his father, Nayef, said.
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