what are the subjects on the negotiating table to extend the truce?

US President Joe Biden said he was in favor of extending the ceasefire.

Two more days. The spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the social network Hamas. The four-day respite, which came into effect on Friday, was set to expire at 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, the Palestinian Islamist movement said it was preparing a new list of hostages to be released in order to “extend the truce”. On the Israeli side, a government spokesperson declared that the Jewish state had offered Hamas a “option” with a view to extending the truce.

A provision of the agreement, negotiated by Qatar with the support of the United States and Egypt, allows the truce to be renewed to free around ten hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip every day. In exchange, Israel must commit to releasing around thirty Palestinian prisoners imprisoned on its soil. Franceinfo looks back at the different elements on the negotiating table.

The fate of hostages held in the Gaza Strip

Since Friday, 39 hostages as well as 117 Palestinian prisoners have been released as part of the agreement. In order to extend this temporary ceasefire, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani declared on Sunday Financial Times that Hamas needed to locate dozens of hostages who were not in its hands. According to him, more than 40 women and children are being held by civilians and various armed factions in the Gaza Strip. “If they [le Hamas] obtain additional wives and children, there will be an extension”he estimated. “One of the objectives [de la trêve] is for Hamas to have time to search for the rest of the missing.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office said Monday morning that discussions were underway regarding a list of hostage names received overnight. Additional information will be communicated as soon as possible, the social network said. X (formerly Twitter).

The situation of prisoners to be released by Israel

As provided for in the agreement, Palestinian prisoners will have to be exchanged for hostages. Two days before the start of the truce, the Israeli Justice Ministry published a list of 300 names of Palestinians eligible for release, out of the 5,000 held in its prisons, according to the UN.

The Palestinian Authority, for its part, calls on Israel to reveal the fate of at least “105 Gazans arrested” since the start of its army’s land operations in the enclave. She says she fears the worst for these Palestinians whose location, identity, or charges brought against them are not revealed by Israel. “The lack of numbers and communication suggests that it is possible that Israel can do whatever it wants to them, even kill them”fears the head of this government body, who claims to have requested information from the Israeli authorities in vain.

The issue of exchanges between hostages and prisoners has been the subject of numerous tensions between Israel and Hamas since Thursday. Enough to fear a certain fragility of the discussions… or on the contrary a form of “solidity”analysis on France 24 Vincent Lemire, historian specializing in the Middle East. “Exchanging a hostage for three prisoners, choosing a woman, a child… All this may seem a bit gloomy, but it means that both parties are strongly involved in the negotiations”he analyzed, believing that this level of precision guaranteed the “sincerity” Exchanges.

Humanitarian aid provided to the Gaza Strip

Since the start of the truce on Friday, some 248 trucks loaded with aid have been able to enter the Gaza Strip. This volume is much greater than that recorded in the days preceding the lull, but it is still largely insufficient, according to several NGOs. “We would have to send 200 trucks per day for at least two months to meet the needs”a spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told AFP.

Aid to the Gaza Strip is an important issue in the talks. American President Joe Biden finds himself under pressure from some Democrats who are calling for an increase in humanitarian support for the Palestinians and more firmness towards the Israeli Prime Minister. Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu had a telephone conversation on Sunday, and the White House says the two leaders spoke about extending the pause and additional humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Benyamin Netanyahu, for his part, has not shown any signs of change on this subject. “There are provisions for the release of ten more hostages every day and that is a blessing. But I also told the president that we will, after the agreement, return to our objective: to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that the Gaza Strip is no longer what it was”he insisted.