The United States welcomed the agreement reached on Monday to extend the truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas by two days. and expect it to extend even more days.
“Of course we applaud the announcement,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“We of course hope that the pause lasts longerand that will depend on Hamas continuing to release hostages,” he added.
As a result of this extension of the pause, according to Kirby, The United States “certainly hopes” to see the release of more Americans still held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Specifically, Washington hopes that there will be Americans among the next 20 hostages to be released, since there are still about eight or nine Israelis with American nationality in the Gaza Strip, Kirby detailed.
Until now, Only one American has been released, Avigail Idan, a dual Israeli-American citizen, and that on Friday she turned four years old while she was detained. Idan was released on Sunday.
(Also read: Israeli soldier who was taken hostage by Hamas speaks publicly for the first time)
Emily Hand, an Israeli hostage held by Hamas in Gaza for 50 days, reunites with her father. (EFE/Government of Israel).
The extension of the truce was announced by Hamas and the Government of Qatar, one of the mediators along with Egypt and the United States. Meanwhile, the Israeli Executive has not yet commented on the matter.
Since the beginning of the pact, 58 captive hostages in Gaza and 117 Palestinian prisoners have already been released in Israeli prisons.
(Also: Netanyahu enters Gaza for the first time since the war with Hamas broke out)
However, Kirby held out little hope that the truce would become a permanent ceasefire.
“I’m not going to speak on behalf of the Israeli defense forces, but when these pauses are over, they have made it very clear that they are going to continue attacking Hamas leaders,” he said.
Kirby held out little hope that the truce would become a permanent ceasefire.
Biden believes his approach is “working,” both in terms of freeing hostages and getting aid to civilians in Gaza, Kirby said.
The American president has been “personally involved” in obtaining the truce, resolving an “obstacle” over the weekend and getting the break extended, he added.
(Keep reading: Elon Musk arrives in Israel, where he will speak about hostages and ‘online anti-Semitism’)
Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7 following an attack by the Islamist group, which included the launching of more than 4,000 rockets and the infiltration of some 3,000 militants, who killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 240 in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s air, naval and land forces have since attacked the Palestinian enclave, where more than 15,000 people have already died, according to Palestinian authorities, most of them children and women, and it is estimated that more than 7,000 people are missing under the rubble.
*With AFP and EFE
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