Hamas was given the option to extend the trucea representative of the Israeli government said a while ago.

It is reminded that today is the fourth and final day of the hostage exchange ceasefireas provided for in the agreement that entered into force on Friday.

Eylon Levy said: “Hamas is aware, this option for an extension (of the ceasefire) is open”. He added that Israel wants to take back another 50 hostages, in addition to those returning tonight.

“Once this framework expires, Israel will continue with all its might” he stated essentially repeating that Israeli military operations in Gaza are not over.

Stoltenberg: Grant an extension

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg requested the extension of the humanitarian ceasefire in Gazaduring a press conference he gave today ahead of the two-day Summit of Foreign Ministers of the Alliance to be held on November 28 and 29 in Brussels.

G. Stoltenberg said an extension of the humanitarian pause was necessary to allow further aid to reach the Palestinian people of Gaza, but also to free more hostages. G. Stoltenberg also added that Iran should restrain its “relatives” and partners.

In the early hours of Monday, the Islamist organization assured in a statement that “seeks the extension of the truce beyond four days” which the agreement stipulated, with the aim of “increasing the number of prisoners to be released”.

This is something that was foreseen in the agreement.

An AFP source with access to Hamas explained that the movement “inform mediators” how he wants the truce to be extended for “two to four days”.

The deal, brokered by Qatar – with the support of Egypt and the US – and entered into force on Fridaycalled for a 4-day ceasefire, the distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the release of 50 of the 200-plus hostages held in the Palestinian enclave, in exchange for the release of 150 imprisoned Palestinians.

As of Friday, 39 hostages had been released under the deal and 24 outside itmostly Thais who worked in Israel, as well as 117 Palestinian prisoners, as the agreed ratio is 1 to 3.

There is a clause in the agreement that allows the truce to be extendedwith the condition of releasing 10 hostages a day, which will have in return the release of 30 Palestinians.

“Win;”

The Israeli Prime Ministerwho is expected today to ask his government to approve a “war” budget of 30 billion shekels (€7.3 billion), he interpreted how military operations will continue as “the victory”. He made this statement in northern Gaza, where he went — for the first time since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave in 2005 — to inspect soldiers.

In the occupied West Bank, buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) transported to Ramallah and Beituniya those released from prison who were greeted by crowds waving flags of Palestine, Hamas and other organizations.

“I feel happy and sad at the same time for the blood of our martyrs. I grieve for our martyrs but rejoice for the victory of our resistance”Yazan Saba, a young prisoner released as part of the truce, told Beitunia.

Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip after Hamas militants stormed southern areas of the Israeli territory on October 7, killing 1,200., according to Israeli authorities. During the deadliest attack that Israel has ever suffered by a state, moreover, 240 people were kidnapped and taken to the Palestinian enclave.

In retaliation for this attack, Israel’s military, where the political leadership has vowed to “eliminate” the Palestinian Islamist movement that took power in 2007 in the Gaza Strip, launched a relentless bombardment and on 27 October began a ground operation.

Based on the latest report from the Hamas Health Ministry, 14,854 people, including 6,150 children, were killed in the Israeli bombings. Civil protection in Gaza says another 7,000 are missing, much of whom were buried in the rubble.

“200 trucks a day for two months”

Although the truce offered a respite to Gazans, the humanitarian situation remains “dangerous” and the needs “unparalleled»according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

From Friday, 248 vehicles loaded with humanitarian aid were able to enter the Gaza Stripaccording to the UN.

“We would have to send 200 trucks a day for at least two months to cover the needs”UNRWA representative Adnan Abu Hasna told AFP, explaining that “neither drinking water nor food” has yet arrived in some areas.

“They are talking about aid and fuel deliveries, but I’ve been at the gas station for nine hours and it’s still closed”protested Bilal Diab, a resident of the city, to Khan Younis yesterday.

The Israeli military, which designates the northern third of the enclave a war zone, had already repeatedly ordered the civilian population to leave and barred anyone from returning during the cease-fire.

Despite his warnings, thousands of displaced residents of the Gaza Strip tried to return to their homes in the north during the ceasefire.

In Gaza City, which has been largely reduced to rubble, residents were moving yesterday in clouds of dust, among piles of remains of houses and other buildings, AFP cameras recorded.

More than half of the homes in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or completely destroyedaccording to the UN; the majority of its inhabitants, 1.7 million out of 2.4 million, have been forcibly displaced.

Hospitals in the southern part of the enclave continue to receive many wounded brought to them from the northwhere almost all health facilities have now ceased to function.