Relatives of hostages hope for a further extension of the ceasefire

The ceasefire has already been extended until Thursday. Can there be an extension after that? This could become problematic for Israel if Hamas then demands the release of adult men.

The question that concerns everyone is: Can the ceasefire possibly be extended again after an initial extension of two days? The relatives of the kidnapped hostages and their many supporters and sympathizers across the country hope so. The images and emotions that have been seen and lived since Friday are too strong – every time hostages return home to Israel. And the government knows that too.

Gideon Saar is a member of the Israeli security cabinet. In an interview on army radio, he made it clear that more hostages should be released. “As soon as the agreement to free the hostages ends, fighting will resume. But as long as we can free more hostages in accordance with the agreement we have already accepted, we will do so.”

Islamists expect an extension

The ceasefire will initially be extended by two days, but that does not have to be the end, Mohammad Al-Hindi makes clear. He is the general secretary of the second major Islamist terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, Islamic Jihad, which also has numerous hostages under its control.

Al-Hindi keeps speaking out from Lebanon. “We have said from the very first moment that we are ready to extend the ceasefire whenever we have enough civilians. And that it is in our interest to extend it.” He assumes that Israel will extend the ceasefire not just by two days, but by several days, Al-Hindi said. “They finally prepared a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners for the release of women and children.”

Hamas and Islamic Jihad do not appear to be averse to extending the ceasefire for the time being, including beyond Thursday. Every minute is important for the terrorist groups to regroup and organize themselves. They are also perceived internationally as equal negotiating partners. And: They score points with the Palestinian population in the West Bank, where they are seen as brokers for their prisoners, who bring them out of Israeli prisons.

Call for the release of male offenders?

The Palestinian prisoners are not yet a problem for Israel. So far, only minors and women who were accused of minor offenses have been released. But that could change if Hamas and Islamic Jihad insist on releasing male adult offenders or possibly serious criminals in the future.

And there could be another problem, says security expert Yaron Avraham on the TV channel Kanal Zwölf: A list of 50 additional Palestinian prisoners was voted on at the cabinet meeting. “But this list is problematic because it also includes the names of Arab prisoners with Israeli citizenship who were arrested but not yet convicted due to hate speech on Facebook.” But this creates a connection between Hamas and the Israeli Arabs, said Avraham. “That’s exactly what the government has tried to prevent so far.”

It is therefore possible that the ceasefire will be extended again by two or perhaps three days. However, it is unlikely that this will result in a viable, lasting ceasefire.