Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories: International pressure mounted on Monday for Hamas and Israel to extend their truce, as the clock ticked on a pause in fighting that has allowed for the release of scores of hostages and prisoners.
After US President Joe Biden said the pause should continue to allow humanitarian relief into Gaza and more Israeli hostages to return home to their families, senior European Union and NATO officials added their voices to his call.
If no extension is agreed the temporary truce is due to expire at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday, threatening a return to intense fighting after the four-day pause.
As part of the truce deal, Hamas has so far released 39 Israeli hostages, including a four-year-old girl.
Israel has freed 117 Palestinian prisoners in exchange under the terms of the agreement. A further 19 foreign nationals have also been released from Gaza under separate arrangements.
Tearful reunions of families and hostages, released in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners, have brought the first relief from images of civilian death and suffering in the seven-week war, with hopes high for an extension.
“That’s our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza,” Biden said Sunday, calling for Hamas to no longer control Gaza but for operations to remove them to be paused for “as long as prisoners keep coming out”.
– ‘Long lasting’ pause –
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell echoed this call as the truce entered its final 24 hours, saying: “The pause should be extended to make it sustainable and long lasting while working for a political solution.”
NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg also weighed in, ahead of a meeting of allied foreign ministers in Brussels.
“I call for an extension of the pause. This would allow for much needed relief to the people of Gaza and the release of more hostages,” he told journalists.
Hamas has signalled its willingness to extend the truce, with a source telling AFP the group told mediators they were open to prolonging it by “two to four days”.
“The resistance believes it is possible to ensure the release of 20 to 40 Israeli prisoners” in that time, the source close to the movement said.
Under the truce, 50 hostages held by the Hamas were to be freed over four days in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. A built-in mechanism extends the truce if at least 10 Israeli captives are released each extra day.
Israel is also facing pressure from the families of hostages, as well as allies, to extend the truce to secure more releases.