With hours left to go before a truce in Gaza expires, international mediators worked to extend it to facilitate the release of militant-held hostages and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The cease-fire has paused the deadliest fighting between Israel and Palestinians in decades.
Hamas freed two Russian-Israeli women, who exited Gaza on Wednesday evening, Israel said. The release was expected to be followed by the swap of 10 more hostages in Gaza for 30 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israel has agreed to extend the truce, which was originally set to expire on Monday, by one day for every 10 hostages freed. Twelve hostages, including 10 Israelis, were released on Tuesday, bringing the total number of people freed during the truce to 81.
READ MORE: Hamas claims youngest hostage and family members are dead
Israel has vowed to resume the war in an effort to end Hamas' 16-year rule of Gaza, but it's facing mounting international pressure to extend the truce and spare southern Gaza a devastating ground offensive like the one that has demolished much of the north.
Hamas' ability to negotiate and implement the cease-fire suggests that Israel's air and ground campaigns have not seriously challenged the group's control of Gaza, despite killing thousands of Palestinians and driving three out of four people in the territory from their homes.
Roughly 240 hostages were captured by Hamas in its October 7 attack in southern Israel that ignited the war.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza. About 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas.
READ MORE: Fragile truce in Gaza holds despite reports Israeli troops being injured in clashes with Hamas
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people are now crammed into southern Gaza, with some three-quarters of them driven from their homes.
The truce has led to a frenzied rush to obtain supplies to feed their families as aid enters in greater, but still insufficient, amounts. Hanging over everyone is the fear that fighting will soon resume.
International pressure for a lasting cease-fire is mounting. An Israeli ground invasion of the south will likely bring an escalating cost in Palestinian lives and destruction that the United States, Israel's main ally, could be unwilling to bear.
The Biden administration has told Israel that if it launches an offensive in the south, it must operate with far greater precision.
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