Israeli Official Says Hamas Has Enough Hostages to Cover 2-3 Day Truce Extension

Palestinians look at the houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, at Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 29, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at the houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, at Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 29, 2023. (Reuters)
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Israeli Official Says Hamas Has Enough Hostages to Cover 2-3 Day Truce Extension

Palestinians look at the houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, at Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 29, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinians look at the houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, at Khan Younis refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 29, 2023. (Reuters)

Israel believes Hamas has enough women and children hostages to allow the current pause in fighting in Gaza to be extended by another two to three days, an official involved in the negotiating process said on Wednesday.

"We know for a fact that there are additional hostages in the hands of Hamas for at least two more days, potentially three days from the list of women and children," said the official, who spoke on condition that he not be named.

"Any additional agreement would be conditional on first of all releasing these remaining women and children and only then could we negotiate follow-on agreements," he said.

The official made the remark on the last day of a two-day extension to the original pause in fighting agreed to allow hostages held by Hamas to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

"We are of course fully prepared to resume fighting, but our preference would be to continue," the official said.

On Wednesday, he said Hamas was expected to release 10 Israeli hostages and another two hostages with joint Israeli and Russian citizenship who were being freed under a separate agreement between the movement and Russia.



Israel Orders Palestinians to Flee Khan Younis

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip queue for water at a makeshift tent camp in the southern town of Khan Younis, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip queue for water at a makeshift tent camp in the southern town of Khan Younis, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Israel Orders Palestinians to Flee Khan Younis

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip queue for water at a makeshift tent camp in the southern town of Khan Younis, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip queue for water at a makeshift tent camp in the southern town of Khan Younis, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from much of Khan Younis on Monday, a sign that troops are likely to launch a new ground assault in the Gaza Strip's second largest city.

The order suggested Khan Younis will be the latest of Israel's repeated raids into parts of Gaza it has already invaded over the past eight months, pursuing Hamas militants as they regroup. Much of Khan Younis was already destroyed in a long assault earlier this year, but large numbers of Palestinians have since moved back in to escape another Israeli offensive in Gaza's southern-most city, Rafah.

The evacuation call covered the entire eastern half of Khan Younis and surrounding areas. Last week, the military ordered a similar evacuation from the north Gaza district of Shujaiya, where there has been intensive fighting since.

Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes, with many displaced multiple times.

Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of public order have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fueling widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine.