The Wall Street Journal reported today, citing Egyptian officials, that Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the truce for an eighth day. According to the newspaper, the agreement will include the release of more Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian detainees. There has been no comment yet from Israel or Hamas.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson told "Arab World News" that Israelis are committed to the truce "as long as it ensures the return of the captives from Gaza to Israel." Spokesman Lior Ben Dor added that Israel is ready to extend the truce "each time by an additional day in exchange for the return of a number of Israeli hostages."
He continued: "At the same time, we are prepared to resume military operations against terrorism in Gaza immediately after the ceasefire or the end of the truce." After seven days of calm, Israel has received more than 100 individuals held by Hamas in exchange for the release of three times that number. Ben Dor said, "Israel continues to make every effort to retrieve all the abductees from Gaza without any delay."
He added: "The truce will continue. However, when we see that we have reached a deadlock or the point where Hamas refuses to release more hostages, we will return to applying military pressure on them." Regarding the prospects for reaching agreements to extend the truce for additional days, Ben Dor stated, "The extension of the truce is contingent on the release of more hostages; there are still about 159 Israeli hostages in Gaza, and we will continue all military, diplomatic, and political efforts to retrieve them."
This comes as a Hamas leader stated that an attack carried out by two Palestinian youths, which the movement claimed responsibility for, resulting in the death of four Israelis in Jerusalem yesterday, has no impact on the possibility of extending a temporary truce between the two sides in Gaza. Mahmoud al-Mardawe told "Arab World News" that the truce in Gaza is unrelated to what is happening in the West Bank and Jerusalem, describing the situation as "an open conflict related to Palestinian national rights."
