International leaders involved in the brokering of the agreement between Israel and Hamas for a temporary ceasefire are hopeful that it could be extended.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary ceasefire lasting four days that is currently ongoing in which Hamas would release 50 hostages — women and children — in exchange for the cessation of fighting, the release of 150 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, and the increase of humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
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The 50 hostages make up less than a fourth of the total number of hostages Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller terror group also based in Gaza, hold. Israeli officials have said they would extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of additional hostages, though it is still unclear whether Hamas plans to do that when the current agreement expires.
"This deal is delivering life-saving results. Critically needed aid is going in, and hostages are coming out. And there's still a structure so that it can be extended to keep building on these results," President Joe Biden said in remarks on Sunday. "That's my goal. That's our goal. To keep this pause going beyond tomorrow, so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need in Gaza."
The hostages were released in smaller groups on each day of the ceasefire. Abigail Edan, 4, became the first American released since the ceasefire took effect, among a group of 17 freed on Sunday. There are two other American women being held, while seven other men are as well.
Similarly, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who played a major role in brokering the agreement, said he was "hopeful" about an extension.
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“[W]e are hopeful. According to the agreement that been agreed upon in the last few days for this four days pause,” Al Thani said on CBS's Face the Nation. “The agreement has a provision that if Hamas are — will be able to prove, to locate, and secure some of the hostages that are within the criteria of the first group, which is women and children, then it will be extended, depends on— on the number that they will have.”
The current ceasefire agreement is the first break in fighting since Israel declared war against Hamas following the Oct. 7 terror attack that left roughly 1,200 people dead, while 240 others were kidnapped and brought back to Gaza. Only four hostages had been released prior to the ceasefire.