Israel-Hamas war: Mediators race to extend truce in Gaza as 7 a.m. deadline nears

Israel’s war cabinet convened Wednesday night for a special session to weigh the possibility of extending the truce with Hamas, hours before a multi-day pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip is due to expire and the seven-week war is set to resume.

Underscoring the urgency, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel early Thursday for talks on aid for Gaza and the truce, which is scheduled to end at 7 a.m. Thursday after a six-day halt in fighting and the release of close to 100 hostages.

There is pressure on Israel and Hamas to extend the pause to allow more hostage releases and additional aid into Gaza.

According to reports in Hebrew media early Thursday, Israel has yet to receive an acceptable list of names for the next potential release of 10 Israeli hostages, as stipulated in the truce deal, which would secure another day of a lull in fighting and the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners Thursday night.

Hamas released 16 hostages Wednesday — 12 Israelis and four Thais.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister Benny Gantz were meeting late into the night and into Thursday to discuss the possible extension. A senior Israeli official also confirmed earlier to reporters that Israeli, American, Egyptian and Qatari representatives were in Qatar to discuss extending the truce Wednesday night.

Channel 12 reported that Israel was not satisfied with the draft list presented during talks with mediators Wednesday and early Thursday. Israel has insisted Hamas release all children and civilian women held hostage by the terror group. Hamas-led terrorists took about 240 hostages of all ages during the October 7 shock assault when some 1,200 people were massacred in southern Israel.

The temporary ceasefire agreement has so far seen 97 civilians released from Hamas captivity in Gaza as of Wednesday: 73 Israelis, 23 Thai nationals, and 1 Filipino.

Israel estimates that about 145 hostages are now being held in Gaza and insists the terror group release all remaining civilian women hostages and children before additional agreements are considered.

According to the Channel 12 report, Israel made it clear the list must be amended for the truce extension to go ahead.

An Israeli source told Channel 12 early Thursday that if Hamas’s proposal doesn’t change by morning, Israel would resume fighting.

A Hamas source said the terror group was also not satisfied with Israel’s proposals for another extension.

“What is being proposed in the discussions to extend the truce is not the best,” the source told AFP, adding that the talks were focused on an extension of “two days or more” of the pause which has seen daily exchanges of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip.

At least four children — Kfir and Ariel Bibas, 10-months and four-years-old, as well as siblings Aisha and Bilal Ziyadne — and an estimated 20 civilian women are believed to remain hostage in Gaza following the release of six groups of mainly women and children since the truce brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States took effect Friday at 7 a.m.

Hamas on Wednesday claimed the Bibas children and their mother Shiri were killed in an Israeli strike during the war in the Strip. It did not say when this had allegedly occurred (a pause in fighting has been in place since November 24). Gaza terror groups have made such claims regarding hostages in the past, seen as part of a psychological warfare campaign.

Speaking to Channel 12, a senior Israeli source, who spoke anonymously, said Israel’s conditions are clear: “Negotiations are conducted either under fire, or while at the same time the release of the abductees continues.”

The source said that message will also be conveyed to Blinken on his trip to Israel Thursday.

The current pause in fighting had been pre-approved by the Israeli cabinet for up to 10 days, and has so far been in effect for six. Israel has released some 210 Palestinian prisoners as of Wednesday night to secure the release of the hostages taken from Israel.

Israel has said it is prepared to resume the war immediately after the temporary truce ends.

Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel will imminently resume its campaign to eliminate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years and orchestrated the deadly October 7 attack, which triggered the war.

“After this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted, will Israel return to fighting? So my answer is an unequivocal yes,” he said. “There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end.”

His vow to continue the fight was echoed by the other two members of the war cabinet, Gallant and Gantz, as well as by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who all issued statements of readiness to immediately progress with the military campaign.