Fourth hostage release expected as Israel, Hamas weigh truce extension

The fourth exchange of hostages held by militant group Hamas is expected Monday as the group and Israel weigh extending a cease-fire in Gaza slated to end later in the day.

Israel indicated last week it would be open to extending the temporary cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. The four-day truce began Friday under a deal brokered last week by Israel, Hamas, Qatar and the U.S.

Hamas has released a total of 62 hostages — mostly women and children — among the estimated 240 people taken captive in the militant group’s Oct. 7 incursion into Israel. The released hostages have so far included Israelis and other foreign nationals.

In exchange for the hostages, Israel agreed to the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners and the delivery of aid to Gaza, which has been under siege since the start of the war last month. The Palestinian prisoners released were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones or firebombs in conflict with Israeli forces, or other less-serious offenses.

While Israel appears open to extending the four-day truce in fighting, it has reiterated it is determined to eliminate Hamas and its military capabilities following the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which left more than 1,200 people dead.

Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 13,000 people since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-ruled health ministry in Gaza. About half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million civilians have been forced to flee their homes in the violence, taking refuge in U.N. shelters, schools or hospitals alongside thousands of wounded patients.

The civilian death toll in Gaza has sparked calls from several humanitarian agencies and other world leaders for an extended cease-fire to allow civilians to leave the territory or for more aid to come in.

Two Egyptian officials who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity told the news service there are talks of extending the cease-fire for another four days. One of the officials told the AP that both sides have agreed to this prospect, though the violence in the occupied West Bank complicates negotiations.

Hamas has demanded an end to the Israeli military raids in the West Bank, which have led to the arrest of hundreds of Palestinians, the AP noted. An estimated 200 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed in the violence following the Oct. 7 attack, according to Reuters.

The Associated Press contributed.