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Today's Paper | May 08, 2026

Published 01 Dec, 2023 07:59am

Qatar, Egypt try to get Israel, Hamas to agree to extend temporary truce again

Negotiators are working feverishly to renew the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as a senior Israeli official reiterated plans to resume the offensive unless the Palestinian group agreed to release more hostages, Reuters reports.

After two last-minute extensions, the enemies marked on Thursday the seventh day of a Qatari-mediated truce with the exchange of eight hostages and 30 Palestinian prisoners as well as the infusion of more humanitarian aid into the shattered Gaza Strip.

Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who succeeded in achieving the earlier deals, were working to negotiate a further truce of two days, Egypt’s official state media agency said.

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel was open to continuing the ceasefire if Hamas committed to further hostage releases. “We’re ready for all possibilities…. Without that, we’re going back to the combat,” he said on CNN.

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