Moments before its expiration, the Israeli military declared on Thursday that an accord had been reached to prolong the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza for a seventh consecutive day.
This extension on Thursday marks the second phase of the initial four-day truce, which commenced on November 24, as reported by CNN.
The initial four-day truce in Gaza, initiated on November 24 and extended for an additional two days on Tuesday, was scheduled to conclude at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday (approximately 10:20 a.m. IST).
The military, in a succinct statement, mentioned, “In light of the mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework, the operational pause will continue.”
Hamas also affirmed the seventh-day extension of the truce in a statement.
Since the initiation of the ceasefire, a total of 210 Palestinians, 70 Israelis, and 24 foreign nationals have purportedly been released.
On the sixth day of the truce, Wednesday, 16 more hostages were freed from Gaza, comprising 10 Israelis, four Thai nationals, and two Israeli-Russians. Additionally, on the same day, 30 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails.
Preceding the military's announcement, Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, conveyed to the BBC that the nation was open to sustaining the ceasefire “as long as Hamas continues to release hostages.”
“Pressure must be placed on Hamas. If they continue to release hostages, then the pause can continue,” he added.
(With Agency Inputs)
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