More hostages to be freed as Gaza truce extended for 48 hours

BBC update:

THE temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has entered its fifth day after a 48-hour extension was agreed.

Three Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for each Israeli hostage returned from Gaza.

But Hamas says it is not holding all of the captives in the Gaza Strip, which could complicate efforts to free the most vulnerable.

A senior Hamas source in Qatar tells the BBC that some of the civilian hostages are held by smaller groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The source says 10 hostages will be released on Tuesday and another 10 on Wednesday but these numbers have not been confirmed by Israel.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has used the pause in fighting to get desperately needed aid into Gaza, but says much more is needed.

Hamas crossed the border and killed 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October, with about 240 taken hostage.

Since then, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 14,500 people have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign.