By Isaiah Miesle, Staff Writer

Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a temporary ceasefire agreement by two days on Monday, prolonging a pause to the conflict that has lasted seven weeks.

The halt in fighting — which began on Friday after negotiations were brokered by Qatar with the help of Egypt and the United States — serves as the longest break since the beginning of the war in October. It is also intended to offer some relief for groups affected by regular Israeli bombardments. 

The current conflict between Israel and Hamas was triggered on Oct. 7 after Hamas gunmen and other militant groups launched an attack on southern Israel. Israel responded with air and ground attacks.

Both Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal last week, in which about 50 captives would be released in Gaza. Israel is said to have released about 150 Palestinian prisoners. Since the ceasefire, mostly women and minors, who were held without a trial, were released.

Tense negotiations between the groups stalled progress towards creating permanent agreements until another temporary truce was made. 

“An agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatar Foreign Ministry, said on X. Hamas also said it has agreed to the two-day extension, while Israel said the truce would be extended every day for every 10 additional hostages released. 

Each day since the four-day truce began on Friday, Hamas has released some of their hostages, while Israel has freed some of the Palestinians it has held captive. 

The Israeli military said that 11 hostages have been released by Hamas. A Qatari spokesperson said that those released were six Argentinians, three French citizens and two Germans. Last Sunday, Hamas released 17 more captives  — 14 Israelis and two Thais  — which was the highest number released in a day so far.

Last Saturday evening, Hamas released 13 hostages. Thirty-nine Palestinian civilians were released in return. 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino hostage were released by Hamas as well.

The exchange occurred after Hamas accused Israel of several violations of the  recent agreement. These allegations included claims that Israel did not release the agreed-upon prisoners and not enough aid was provided in northern Gaza throughout the conflict.

According to the United Nations, the ceasefire enabled Israel and Palestine to get food, water and medicine in large volumes since Oct. 21. 

With the short truce that is happening, some relief has been brought to the families of hostages released, with some disappointments surrounding the ongoing conflict.

 “There is no real joy, even this little joy we feel as we wait… We are still afraid to feel happy,” said Sawsan Bkeer, the mother of a 24-year old Palestinian prisoner.   

President Joe Biden noted that, “the chances are real,” that the break could lead to a prolonged ceasefire, which he hoped would lead to a more prolonged agreement.

These matters have been further complicated after Hamas accused Israel of a “blatant breach” of their ceasefire agreement in Gaza but claimed they were “still committed to it” yesterday. Meanwhile, an Israeli Defense Force official said that the military was “ready to continue fighting.”