Egyptian, Qatari and US negotiators closed in on an extension of the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Egyptian security sources told the Reuters news agency. The truce is set to end tonight at midnight local time.
According to the AFP news agency, Hamas has informed mediators that they are willing to extend the truce by “two to four days.”
Israel has previously said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every ten additional hostages released.
On Monday, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said the “option for extension is open.”
“We want to receive another additional 50 hostages beyond tonight, on our way to bringing everyone home,” Levy said
He added the military campaign against Hamas would resume immediately with the end of a truce.
UN rights experts have urged an independent investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel and Hamas in their ongoing conflict.
“Independent investigators must be given the necessary resources, support and access required to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into crimes allegedly committed by all parties to the conflict,” Morris Tidball-Binz, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, and Alice Jill Edwards, the special rapporteur on torture, said in a joint statement.
They urged the international community to ensure that those responsible for serious human rights violations, especially those with command responsibility, are promptly brought to justice.
They said perpetrators could be charged by courts in any country as war crimes and crimes against humanity fall under so-called universal jurisdiction.
“We encourage all states to play a proactive role in identifying key suspected perpetrators and helping to facilitate prosecutions through the principle of mutual legal assistance,” they said.
Israel has previously denied it committed war crimes during its military operations against Hamas in Gaza. Hamas has denied that it targeted civilians during its terror attacks on Israel on October 7.
Several international leaders have called on Israel and the Islamist militant group Hamas to extend their truce to allow for more aid into Gaza and the release of hostages from the strip.
Qatar, Egypt, the United States, the European Union and Spain were all working to extend the four-day cease-fire, the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, said, according to Reuters.
Speaking at the same event as al-Malki, the Forum for the Union of the Mediterranean (UfM), EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said he hoped a truce would last “a few more days.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called for a halt in the fighting in Gaza to be prolonged to allow for more aid and the release of hostages.
“I call for an extension of the pause. This would allow for much-needed relief to the people of Gaza and the release of more hostages,” Stoltenberg said.
He also said Iran, which also called for a permanent cease-fire on Monday, should rein in its “proxies.” Tehran is a known supporter of Israel-opposed militant groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Qatar, who mediated the original agreement, has expressed hopes for an extended truce beyond the initially agreed four days.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden said the goal was “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.”
Under the truce, 58 hostages being held in Gaza were freed, and 117 Palestinian prisoners were released since Friday.
Israel and Hamas have signaled their willingness to extend the deal beyond midnight, but no concrete announcements have been made.
According to Reuters, an Israeli government spokesperson said on Monday that 184 hostages were still held in Gaza, including 14 foreigners and 80 Israelis with dual nationality.
Source: DW.com