Israel and Hamas strike late deal to extend truce; Spain PM questions Israel conduct

Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire for a seventh day.

The truce has allowed much needed humanitarian aid into Gaza after much of the coastal territory of 2.3 million people was reduced to wasteland by seven weeks of Israeli bombardment in retaliation for a deadly rampage by Hamas militants on October 7.

Morning broke over northern Gaza's war zone, quiet for the seventh day as seen from across the fence in Israel, although a deadly shooting in Jerusalem was a potent reminder of the potential for violence to spread.

Israel, which has demanded Hamas release at least 10 hostages per day to keep the ceasefire going, said it received a list at the last minute of those who would go free on Thursday, allowing it to call off plans to resume fighting at dawn.

"In light of the mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework, the operational pause will continue," the Israeli military said in a statement, released minutes before the truce was due to expire at 0500 GMT.

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Two killed in Jerusalem attack

Shortly after the agreement, Israeli police said two Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop during morning rush hour at the entrance to Jerusalem, killing at least three people. Both attackers were "neutralized," police said.

"Two terrorists arrived at the scene in a vehicle armed with firearms," the police said. "These terrorists opened fire towards civilians at the bus station and were subsequently neutralized by security forces and a nearby civilian."

The conditions of the ceasefire, including the halt of hostilities and the entry of humanitarian aid, remain the same, according to a Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson. Qatar has been a key mediator between the warring sides, along with Egypt and the United States.

Hamas had earlier said Israel had refused its offer to hand over seven women and children plus the bodies of three others. It did not name the dead but said on Wednesday the youngest hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, had been killed along with his four-year-old brother and their mother in Israeli bombardment, a claim Israel said it was checking.

Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, in response to the October 7 rampage by the militant group, when Israel says gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages.

Spain PM Sanchez questions Israel's conduct 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday that, given the number of casualties among civilians in Gaza, he doubts Israel is respecting the international humanitarian law.

"The footage we are seeing and the growing numbers of children dying, I have serious doubt (Israel) is complying with international humanitarian law," he said in an interview with Spanish state-owned broadcaster TVE.

"What we are seeing in Gaza is not acceptable," he added.

Until the truce, Israel bombarded the territory for seven weeks. Palestinian health authorities deemed reliable by the United Nations say more than 15,000 Gazans have been confirmed killed, around 40 percent of them children. A further 6,500 are missing, many feared still buried under rubble.

Israel intercepts missile from Lebanon

The Israeli military said it intercepted an "aerial target" that crossed from Lebanon on Thursday, in an incident that jolted the calm prevailing at the frontier since Hamas and Israel agreed a temporary truce.

Reuters witnesses heard blasts along the southeastern Lebanese frontier. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for any attacks from Lebanon.

Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, had been trading fire across the border for weeks following the eruption of the Hamas-Israel conflict on October 7, in their worst fighting since 2006.

Other groups, including Hamas and the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, also launched attacks from Lebanon against Israel during the conflict.

The Israeli army said on Thursday it had "successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory".

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