Israel-Hamas truce could be 'extended by weeks', says Stamford politics expert
It's thought an extra 50 hostages could be freed over the next five days
Last updated 28th Nov 2023
The initial four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, to allow for the exchange of hostages and prisoners and for aid to be ramped up in Gaza, could "be extended by weeks" according to a Stamford political expert.
The four day truce came info effect on Friday (24th November), after several weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt.
On Monday afternoon (27th November), Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Israel and Hamas had agreed to extend a truce for two more days.
How many hostages and prisoners have been released?
Hamas freed another 11 women and children on Monday in the fourth and final swap planned under the initial ceasefire agreement. Israel released 33 Palestinian prisoners.
Monday's releases bring to 51 the number of Israelis freed under the truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities.
Before the truce, four hostages were freed, another rescued and two were found dead inside Gaza.
Most of the hostages freed so far have appeared to be physically well but Elma Avraham, 84, was airlifted to an Israeli hospital in a life-threatening condition.
So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. Israel has said it would extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released.
The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces.
But some were convicted in alleged attempts to carry out stabbings, bombings and shootings. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation.
Tom Cheatley, who's head of politics at Stamford Endowed Schools, said the Israeli Prime Minister will be under pressure from families of hostages being held:
'There will be pressure on Israel from the families of those still missing loved ones, and from the wider community, to agree to ceasefires in order to get the remaining hostages back home to Israel.'
'There are still a lot of hostages that are being held in various places in Gaza so, for want of a better phrase, Hamas do have a significant bargaining chip if they want to extend the truce.'
He added: 'About 240 hostages were taken on October 7th when Hamas initially attacked Israel. There's still a lot of hostages that are being held. We could see the truce extended by a couple of weeks.'
'Unfortunately, specifically how many days of truce ten hostages a day will amount to, is dependent on how many hostages have survived the last 50 days of captivity.'
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region later this week for the third time since the start of the war, and is expected to press for an extension of the truce and the release of more hostages.
The State Department said he would also discuss efforts to "protect civilian life during Israel's operations in Gaza" and accelerate the delivery of aid to the impoverished coastal strip.
Israel's top ally has pledged unwavering support for its Gaza offensive but Mr Blinken has also said "far too many" Palestinians have been killed.