(NewsNation) — The State of Qatar announced Monday an agreement has been reached to extend the temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war for two additional days.
Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, made the announcement on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. Qatar and Egypt have been key mediators in the ongoing conflict.
John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, confirmed the extension during a press briefing Monday.
“We welcome the announcement by Qatar that the humanitarian pause in Gaza, now in its fourth day, will be extended,” he told reporters, adding that the cease-fire will now go on through Thursday morning Israeli time.
While the administration would like to see the pause extended further, Kirby said, “We’re grateful that we have an extra two days to work with.”
In a statement released to the press, President Joe Biden pointed to the U.S. diplomatic role in the cease-fire and hostage releases.
“I have remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this deal—brokered and sustained through extensive U.S. mediation and diplomacy—can continue to deliver results. Thus far, more than 50 hostages have now been released and returned to their families,” he said.
He also pointed to the impact in Gaza.
“We are taking full advantage of the pause in fighting to increase the amount of humanitarian aid moving into Gaza, and we will continue our efforts to build a future of peace and dignity for the Palestinian people,” he added.
Monday was initially set as the final date of the temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, which was done in exchange for the release of hostages being held by the militant group. However, there had been talks of extending the initial four-day pause if more hostages are released.
To extend the pause, Kirby said, Hamas committed to releasing another 20 women and children over the next two days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office said on X that information on who is on the list of hostages slated for release Monday has been conveyed to their families.
In the previous few days, there have been 58 hostages let go, including 40 Israelis, some with multiple citizenships. There were 17 citizens of Thailand freed, and one from the Philippines. One hundred and seventeen Palestinian women and children, who were being held in prison or administrative detention in Israel, were also released.
One of the hostages released on the third day of the exchange included an American citizen, Abigail Edan, who is just 4 years old. Both of her parents were killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. About 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, most during Hamas’ initial incursion.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since war broke out, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza.
Currently, there are still 184 hostages missing, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office said. Kirby said the number of Americans being held hostage is less than ten and probably in the neighborhood of eight or nine.
Despite the temporary pause on fighting in the Middle East, Netanyahu says that once it’s over, the war will be back on.
“We have three goals for this war: eliminate Hamas, return all our hostages and ensure that Gaza will not become a threat to the State of Israel again,” Netanyahu said. “I’m here to say to my friends here, to the fighters here, who are telling me the same thing, and I repeat this to you the citizens of Israel — we will continue until the end until victory.”
The United Nations says hundreds of trucks worth of humanitarian aid, such as food, water, medicine and fuel, have gone to the Gaza Strip in recent days.
Every single day of the cease-fire has allowed for a “surge” of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, Kirby said, with 2,000 trucks sent there since Oct. 21.
The pause extension will allow dozens more trucks to get to people in need, he said.
“Our team has prioritized this much-needed relief into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians there- of course, most of them have nothing to do with Hamas,” Kirby said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.