Qatar announced Monday that Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a humanitarian pause in hostilities for an additional two days as a part of their ongoing mediation. Later on Monday, Israel released 33 additional Palestinian civilians as a part of their agreement with Hamas. In exchange, Hamas released 11 Israeli hostages. Monday marked the fourth day of the temporary pause in hostilities between the two parties, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
Spokesperson for the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed Al Ansari announced the extension via X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. He stated, “[A]s part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip.” The White House later confirmed the extension, with National Security Council official John Kirby adding, “Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children over the next two days. We would, of course, hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages.”
The original deal was set to expire by the end of Monday, but, according to Kirby, negotiators worked through the night to agree to an extension of the deal. Under the new deal, it appears that Hamas has agreed to the release of at least 20 hostages, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled that Israel is prepared to release an additional 50 female prisoners “in the event that a release of additional Israeli hostages is carried out.”
The announcement of the deal comes seven weeks after Israel declared war on Hamas for the October 7 attacks. During the initial attacks, Hamas killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 hostage in Gaza. International law experts have said that this, along with rocket attacks targeting civilian areas, constitutes war crimes, and families of October 7 victims filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging genocide. Bringing the hostages home is one of Israel’s stated goals and has been a rallying cry for Israeli citizens and Jewish communities.
Following Hamas’s attacks, Israel has engaged in a siege and invasion of Gaza that’s killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Restrictions on humanitarian aid, food, water and fuel, combined with Israeli attacks, have created a dire situation for civilians in Gaza. The international community has expressed deep concern, with the World Health Organization describing the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic.” Groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused Israel of war crimes, pointing to attacks on places like medical facilities and refugee camps and the high number of journalist deaths. Israel has rejected these claims, saying Hamas embeds themselves in civilian locations. A group of five countries submitted a referral to the ICC, and Palestinian rights groups filed their own complaint alleging genocide.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said that while the UN commends the humanitarian pause, “The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day.” According to figures from the UN, approximately 1.8 million people have been displaced since the start of the war in Gaza, with over 14,000 people killed within the strip. The spokesperson also said, “The dialogue that led to the agreement must continue, resulting in a full humanitarian ceasefire, for the benefit of the people of Gaza, Israel and the wider region.”
