- Monday marked the start of the final day of the Israeli-Hamas truce.
- Israel released over 100 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages.
- If 10 or more Israeli prisoners are freed every day, an internal mechanism increases it.
Monday marked the start of the final day of the Israeli-Hamas truce. The militant organization said it was willing to prolong the ceasefire after freeing more hostages, including a four-year-old who had been left orphaned by its attack on October 7.
Following the start of the pause on Friday, Israel released over 100 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages.
The final day
It is also reported by Agence France-Presse that the focus is now on whether the truce will be prolonged before its early Tuesday morning end.
US President Joe Biden says that more hostages should be freed and more humanitarian aid should be given to those in need if the ceasefire in the Gaza conflict is extended past tomorrow.
According to a source who spoke to AFP, Hamas has indicated that it is willing to keep the truce in place for an additional “two to four days.”
Families of the hostages, along with allies, are putting tremendous pressure on Israel to prolong the truce to obtain additional releases. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had spoken with Biden and that he would be in favor of extending the temporary ceasefire provided that ten prisoners would be released for each extra day.
As per the terms of the truce, 150 Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged for 50 hostages held by the militants, who would release them over the course of four days. If 10 or more Israeli prisoners are freed every day, an internal mechanism increases it.
The fourth-year-old American citizen Abigail, whose parents were killed in the Hamas attacks, was among the hostages released on Sunday, making up the third group.
