Egyptian-Qatari efforts underway to reach 2-day extension of Gaza truce: Egypt’s SIS

CAIRO – 30 November 2023: The Head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), Diaa Rashwan, said Egypt and Qatar are working to reach a two-day extension of the truce in Gaza, which extends for the seventh day and is set to expire on Friday.

The extension of the truce will allow the release of more Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives and the delivery of further aid to the Gaza Strip, Rashwan said.

He urged both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to abide by the truce agreement, stressing that Egypt will do its utmost to ensure continuous flow of humanitarian aid to northern and southern Gaza.

Hamas and Israel agreed early on Thursday to extend their truce so that it ends at 0500 GMT on Friday after the Israeli side said it received a list of those who will be released by the Palestinian group at the last minute.

So far, Hamas has released 96 captives over the past six days of the truce, including 71 Israelis and 25 foreign nationals in exchange for around 210 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

The Israeli war in Gaza since October 7 has killed around 15,000 civilians, most of which are women and children, displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and damaged the enclave’s infrastructure and vital facilities.