Israel and Hamas Agree to Last-Minute Deal Extending Truce by 24 Hours

Israel has agreed to extend its truce with Hamas for a seventh day to facilitate the exchange of captives. The extension was announced just minutes before it was set to expire on Thursday morning, prolonging a reprieve for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents after 47 days of relentless attacks by Israel spawned a massive humanitarian crisis. On Wednesday, Hamas released 16 hostages 10 Israelis, four Thai nationals and two Russian-Israeli citizens. In exchange, Israel released another 30 Palestinian women and child prisoners, many of them jailed indefinitely without charge under Israel’s “administrative detention” policy. On Wednesday, Hamas said its youngest Israeli hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, was killed in an Israeli bombing alongside his mother and 4-year-old brother. If those deaths are confirmed, the hostages join some 15,000 people killed by Israel’s assault on Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attacks. Two-thirds of the dead are women and children.