Israel-Hamas war updates: American girl, 4, among 17 hostages freed; Biden calls for Gaza truce to continue

U.S. President Joe Biden said Sunday he hoped the Gaza truce would be extended to allow more captives to be freed.

According to Sky News, he said in Nantucket, Massachusetts, “That’s my goal, that’s our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow, so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief to those in need in Gaza.”

— Matt Clinch

Hamas said for the first time that it would seek to extend the deal by looking to release a larger number of hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying he had spoken to U.S. President Joe Biden and reiterated his offer to extend the cease-fire by an additional day for every 10 hostages Hamas releases. But he said Israel would resume its offensive “with all of our might” once the truce expires.

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— Associated Press

Three Palestinian students were shot and wounded near the University of Vermont Saturday night, police said.

Two of the three 20-year-old men are in stable condition, while the other is facing more serious injuries, according to a report from the Burlington Police Department in Vermont.

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— Rebecca Picciotto

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that 17 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were released on Sunday, including four-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Mor Edan.

The Prime Minister’s office said that 14 of the individuals were Israeli citizens, while the other three were foreign nationals.

The release on Sunday, the third day of the four-day military pause, brings the total number of freed hostages to 41. Fifty Hamas hostages are due to be freed over the four days under the terms of an agreement between Israel and Hamas. In the first two days of the cease-fire, 24 hostages were released from Gaza in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.

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— Rebecca Picciotto