There were hopes on Monday that a four-day truce in Gaza could be extended as the current deal that enabled hostage-for-prisoner swaps and brought badly needed humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory ticked into its final hours.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday night, signalled his willingness to prolong the ceasefire if it meant additional hostages would be freed, while the Hamas militant group said it is also seeking an extension to the truce that has offered a reprieve to Gazans after over seven weeks of fighting.
The agreement struck by the sides last week provides for the possibility of extending the ceasefire in return for the release of a further 10 hostages per day.
Israel has received a list with the names of further hostages who are to be released on Monday, the Prime Minister’s office said.
It was not stated how many hostages could be released on the last day of the agreed ceasefire.
According to unconfirmed media reports, 11 people are believed to be involved.
Hamas in Gaza confirmed that it had given representatives of Qatar and Egypt a list of the hostages to be released.
Both states are mediating in the conflict.
This would be the fourth group of hostages to be freed from captivity in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails since the ceasefire began on Friday.
So far, 58 hostages have been released, and in return, 177 Palestinians were freed from prison.
Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levi said 184 hostages were still being held in the Gaza Strip.
Of these, 14 were foreigners and 80 were Israelis with a second passport.
The U.S. said on Monday that it believes not all of them are being held by Hamas, which could make obtaining their freedom difficult.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said other Islamist outfits and individuals are believed to be detaining several people but did not give an exact number.
In New York, the UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the war at least twice this week, with the first session coming at the request of Russia and starting at 2000 GMT on Monday.
A further meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, to be chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
China currently holds the rotating monthly presidency of the Security Council. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is also set to speak at Wednesday’s meeting.
Earlier this month, the Security Council passed a resolution calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip.”
