Israel and Hamas say they have agreed to extend their truce for one more day.
The Israel Defense Forces tweeted in Hebrew that: "In light of the mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing the abductees and subject to the terms of the agreement, the cease-fire will continue."
The statement came about 15 minutes before the truce was to end.
Israel is reported to have been unhappy with the initial list of hostages to be released that Hamas had proposed for the extension.
Hamas said Israel had declined its offer of seven women and child hostages and the bodies of three others who the militants said were killed during an Israeli bombardment. Hamas said in a statement that the 10 were the only women and children hostages under its control.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli President Isaack Herzog in Tel Aviv on Thursday. At the start of the meeting Blinken told Herzog the United States believes the truce is producing results and should continue: "We have seen over the last week the very positive development of hostages coming home, being reunited with their families, and that should continue today. It’s also enabled a significant increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately."
In his statement, Herzog noted an attack allegedly carried out by two Palestinian gunmen Thursday morning in Jerusalem that killed at least three people and injured several others was an example of "the endless war” that Israel is “fighting against terror organizations, especially Hamas, in these very complicated and challenging times."
Hamas militants freed 16 hostages Wednesday, the sixth and day of a truce between the warring parties, while negotiators worked to extend the pause in fighting and free even more hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Five Israeli women, three children and two young men were freed along with four Thai nationals. Hamas had freed two Russian Israeli women, ages 50 and 73, earlier in a separate release. Early Thursday, Israel released 30 Palestinians from its jails in return, including Ahed Tamini, a well-known activist.
One Israeli official told The Washington Post that the truce could be extended by two or three days, but a further cessation in fighting would not "lead to a permanent cease-fire."
The official said that the "goal of removing Hamas from its rule in Gaza" remains as the key objective for the Jewish state after Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people and allowed the capture of about 240 hostages. In response, an Israeli aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed more than 15,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, has approved plans for "the continuation of the fighting" in Gaza after the pause ends.
The original Israel-Hamas truce called for four days of Israel pausing its campaign to eradicate the Hamas militant group, with Hamas releasing 50 hostages it seized during an attack on Israel last month and Israel freeing 150 Palestinian prisoners. The pause also allowed for increased humanitarian aid to reach the battered Gaza Strip.
A two-day extension was added under the terms of Hamas releasing 10 more hostages per day and Israel freeing additional prisoners.
The six-day truce has brought Gaza its first respite after six weeks of intensive Israeli aerial bombardment and a ground offensive prompted by the Hamas attack.
With the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the United Nations estimates 1.8 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes, with many staying in overcrowded shelters. Shelter Network, a U.N.-led aid consortium, said in a report last Friday that more than 60% of Gaza’s housing stock has been damaged or destroyed.
VOA State Department bureau chief Nike Ching contributed to this article. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.