Israel and Hamas agreed to a one-day extension of their ceasefire shortly before it would have expired.
The Israel Defense Forces announced that "the operational pause will continue" just six minutes before the ceasefire would have expired and the fighting between Israel and Hamas could have restarted. Both sides had indicated to their forces that they should be ready to restart fighting if an agreement was not reached.
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Hamas and Qatar, which has been a crucial mediator for these negotiations, also affirmed the one-day extension.
The ceasefire, which will reach a week in total following the conclusion of the latest agreement, has resulted in the release of 70 Israelis and dual nationals, primarily women and children, while another three dual Israeli citizens and 24 foreign nationals have been released outside of the framework of the agreement. In exchange for their release, Israel paused its military campaign and allowed for humanitarian aid to surge into Gaza and the release of three times as many Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Israeli officials said they would extend the truce one day for every 10 hostages released. The hostages, roughly 240, have been held by Hamas or other terrorist groups based in Gaza since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel that ignited the war.
An Israeli military spokesperson said on Wednesday there were 159 hostages still in Gaza, though it is unclear if that's still the most updated figure.
The agreement only stipulates the release of women and children hostages, and it's unclear if the parties will be amenable to a deal to release adult males.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Israel and the West Bank, where he will urge leaders to extend the truce to ensure more hostages can return to their families.
"With regard to the pause, look, we'd like to see the pause extended because what it has enabled first and foremost is hostages being released, coming home, being reunited with their families," Blinken said on Wednesday. "It's also enabled us to surge humanitarian assistance into the people of Gaza who so desperately need it. So its continuation, by definition, means that more hostages would be coming home, more assistance would be getting in."
An Israeli American, Liat Beinin, was released on Wednesday. U.S. officials said at the start of the ceasefire there were three American women and children held in Gaza, and with Beinin's release, which came a couple of days after the release of 4-year-old Abigail Edan, only one remains. Around seven American men are believed to be held hostage as well.
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The United States and other countries have surged humanitarian aid to Gaza during the stoppage in fighting. The U.S. announced it would send three warplanes full of aid to the Sinai Peninsula, where the aid will then be given to United Nations officials for distribution to Palestinian civilians.
U.S. officials, Blinken included, have urged Israel to be more precise in how it carries out its military campaign in Gaza, while Israeli leaders reaffirmed on Wednesday its intent to restart its military objectives whenever the truce concludes.