Mediators aim to extend ISRAEL-HAMAS truce ahead of last hostage swap

RAFAH, Gaza Strip: International mediators appeared to make progress Wednesday on extending the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive.

The cease-fire will otherwise end within a day. Israel has welcomed the release of dozens of hostages in recent days and says it will maintain the truce if Hamas keeps freeing captives.

But it also says it is committed to its other major goal — the annihilation of the armed group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years and orchestrated the deadly attack on Israel that triggered the war — however hard that might be.

Weeks of heavy aerial bombardment and a ground invasion have demolished vast swaths of northern Gaza and killed thousands of Palestinians.

But it seems to have had little effect on Hamas’ rule, evidenced by its ability to conduct complex negotiations, enforce the cease-fire among other armed groups, and orchestrate the smooth release of hostages.

Yehya Sinwar and other Hamas leaders have likely relocated to the south, along with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who have packed into overflowing shelters.

An Israeli ground invasion of the south could eventually ferret out Hamas’ leaders and demolish the rest of its militant infrastructure, including kilometers (miles) of tunnels, but at a cost in Palestinian lives and destruction that the United States, Israel’s main ally, could be unwilling to bear.

The Biden administration has told Israel that if it resumes the offensive it must operate with far greater precision, especially in the south.

That approach could make it more difficult to bring Hamas to its knees soon, and international pressure for a lasting cease-fire is already mounting.

“How far both sides will be prepared to go in trading hostages and prisoners for the pause is about to be tested, but the pressures and incentives for both to stick with it are at the moment stronger than the incentives to go back to war,” Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador, wrote on X.

Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt’s state information services, said negotiations to extend the ceasefire and release more hostages have made progress and that it is “highly likely” another extension will be announced Wednesday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who plans to visit the region this week, said the U.S. would like to see an extension of the truce, the release of more hostages, and the delivery of more humanitarian aid to Gaza.

He said he also wanted to discuss postwar arrangements for Gaza, a subject on which the U.S., Israel and Arab countries are deeply divided. (AP)