Biden pushes for a longer Gaza truce and an agreement between Israel and Hamas to free its hostages

In order “to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza,” US President Joe Biden has expressed optimism that the humanitarian agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip would be extended.

As the agreement neared its last and fourth day, Biden made these comments. According to the terms of the deal, Israel agreed to a four-day truce in return for the release of Hamas captives.

Israel will observe a four-day truce in accordance with the agreement mediated by Qatar, the US, and Egypt, and Hamas will release Israeli prisoners in batches. In the first three days, Hamas has freed three groups of 12–14 captives thus far.

In return, Israel has let relief trucks to enter Gaza and released Palestinian inmates.

In the meanwhile, Hamas has also proposed to prolong the agreement for an extra two to four days, releasing up to forty Israeli captives.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has also made suggestions that the agreement may be extended longer but has threatened to take decisive action if it is terminated.

On Sunday, Israel released 39 more Palestinian inmates in exchange for Hamas releasing a group of fourteen Israelis and three foreign people. The release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees occurred for the third time in history.

Israel launched an offensive against Hamas, a militant Palestinian organization, after their catastrophic October 7 assault that claimed over 1,200 lives and captured almost 240 more.

Since October 7, about 14,500 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory bombardment, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas.

After battling for many days, both sides gave in to pressure from around the world and came to an agreement to stop the conflict and free the captives.