UNDEFINED – A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas entered its final hours on Thursday, with mediators struggling to reach agreement on another extension after a final hostage exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The six-day lull in fighting ends Thursday morning local time with the freeing of a final group of hostages from Gaza overnight in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

There is pressure on both sides to extend the pause to allow more hostage releases and additional aid to the devastated Gaza Strip. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for talks on Wednesday evening.

The ceasefire brought a temporary halt to fighting that began on October 7, when Hamas militants poured across the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel’s subsequent air and ground assault in Gaza killed nearly 15,000 people, mostly civilians, and reduced much of the territory’s north to rubble, according to Hamas officials.

The ceasefire agreement provides for extensions if Hamas can release another 10 hostages a day, and a source close to the group said on Wednesday it was prepared to extend the pause by four days.

“The movement could, under the terms of the existing ceasefire, release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties are holding during this period,” the source added.

However, a source in the group later said it was not satisfied with Israel’s proposals for an extension.

“What is being proposed in the discussions to extend the ceasefire is not the best,” the source told AFP.

According to media reports, Israel’s war cabinet met late Wednesday about the possible extension.

“Permanent humanitarian ceasefire”

As the talks continued, ten more Israeli hostages were released under the agreement, another four Thai hostages and two Israeli-Russian women were released outside the agreement.

A video released by Hamas showed masked gunmen handing over hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Among those released was Liat Beinin, who also has American citizenship and works as a guide at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.

US President Joe Biden said he was “deeply pleased that she will soon be reunited with her three children and father, who are plagued by worries”.

“This agreement has achieved significant results,” he said of the ceasefire agreement, thanking the leaders of Israel, Egypt and Qatar for their “ongoing commitment to bringing home every hostage and providing more assistance to the innocent people of Gaza “.

Shortly after the hostages arrived in Israel, the country’s prison service said 30 Palestinian prisoners had been released, including prominent activist Ahed Tamimi.

Since the ceasefire began on November 24, 70 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for 210 Palestinian prisoners.

Around 30 foreigners, most of them Thais living in Israel, were released outside the terms of the agreement.

Israel has made it clear that it views the ceasefire as a temporary truce aimed at releasing hostages, but there are growing calls for a longer break in fighting.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a “genuine humanitarian ceasefire” and warned that the people of Gaza were “in the midst of an epic humanitarian catastrophe”.

And China, whose top diplomat Wang Yi was in New York for Security Council talks about the violence, called for an immediate “permanent humanitarian ceasefire” in a position paper published Thursday.

‘EVERYTHING IS GONE’

The release of the hostages brought joy and a touch of anguish. Families waited anxiously each night to find out whether their loved ones would be released and learned harrowing details from those who returned.

Four-year-old Abigail was captured after crawling from under her father’s body, killed by militants and covered in his blood, her great-aunt Liz Hirsh Naftali said.

“It’s a miracle,” she said of the little girl’s survival and release.

But in a reminder of the tragic risks of the conflict, the Israeli army said on Wednesday it was investigating a claim by Hamas’ armed wing that a 10-month-old baby hostage, his four-year-old brother and their mother were all killed in an Israeli bombing in Gaza.

Israel relentlessly bombed Gaza before the ceasefire, forcing an estimated 1.7 million people from their homes and restricting access to food, water, medicine and fuel.

According to the World Food Program, conditions in the area remain “catastrophic” and the population is at “high risk of famine.”

During the fighting, Israeli forces attacked several hospitals in northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes.

Hamas-run territory’s health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP on Wednesday that doctors found five dead premature babies at Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza City, which had to leave medical staff.

The ceasefire has allowed those displaced to return to their homes, but for many there is little left.

“I found that my house was completely destroyed – I spent 27 years of my life building it and everything is gone,” said Taghrid al-Najjar, 46, after returning to her home in southeast Gaza.

The violence in Gaza has also increased tensions in the West Bank, where nearly 240 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

An eight-year-old boy and a teenager were the youngest fatalities in the occupied territory. Israel said it “responded with live ammunition … and hits were detected” after suspects hurled explosive devices at the troops.