There is clearly pressure on the Israeli government to extend the truce. Diaa Rashwan, the Head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), said yesterday that Egypt is communicating intensively with all parties to extend the four-day truce for one or two additional days. Rashwan noted that the truce’s extension would mean the release of more Israeli captives in Gaza and Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. The head of SIS further explained that Egypt has so far received positive indicators from all parties on the possibility of an extension to the truce.
Indeed, there were media reports inside Israel claiming that the truce could be extended one or two days to enable more releases, but an unnamed senior official involved in the process dismissed the claims as “ridiculous” and “false.” He told the Times of Israel that it’s highly unlikely any deal extending the temporary ceasefire beyond four days will be finalized more than a day or even hours ahead of time.
