Israel-Hamas War, Day 55: 24-Hour Ceasefire Extension Offers Brief Respite, But Fragile Truce At Risk After Jerusalem Attack

Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend their ceasefire for an additional day, bringing the total number of days under the truce agreement to seven.

The extension was announced just minutes before the previous truce was set to expire on Thursday, as a result of intense mediation efforts to facilitate the release of more hostages and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Hostage release: Israel, insisting on the release of at least 10 hostages daily to sustain the ceasefire, confirmed receiving a list of individuals to be freed on Thursday.

This move averted the resumption of hostilities, which were planned if the agreement wasn’t met.

A Hamas source indicated that 10 Israeli hostages were set to be released, including two with Russian citizenship, according to The Times of Israel.

Al Jazeera reported that Daniel Levy, who previously served as an Israeli negotiator, said that as the number of civilians held by Hamas decreases, the existing version of the ceasefire agreement will need to undergo renegotiation.

Blinken’s diplomatic effort: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with top Israeli officials. He highlighted the positive developments in hostage releases and the increased humanitarian aid to Gaza in a post on social media platform X.

Blinken is now meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank. 

Hamas’ attack in Jerusalem: Two Palestinian assailants linked to Hamas opened fire at a bus stop near the entrance to Jerusalem, resulting in at least three civilian deaths and the injury of eight others, as reported by Sky News.

The Shin Bet security agency of Israel identified the attackers as brothers, aged 30 and 38, with affiliations to Hamas. Hamas acknowledged that the two individuals were members of their organization.

In response to the attack, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of Israel stated that Hamas’s admission of responsibility for the incident, which resulted in the deaths of three Israelis, constitutes a breach of the ongoing ceasefire.

Market reactions: Israeli stocks, as tracked by iShares MSCI Israel ETF EIS, fell substantially by 2% on Thursday, snapping a streak of nine consecutive sessions. The shekel also weakened 1.3% against the greenback.

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