Israel ready to extend ceasefire for hostage release: FM to EU counterparts

'Ceasefire will not be extended without the release of hostages,' Sa'ar said in his meetings with the Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Finnish, and Slovakian foreign ministers

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In Brussels, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar informed his 20 European Union counterparts that Israel is open to extending the ceasefire if more hostages are released, according to a statement from his office quoted by The Times of Israel.

"It will not happen without the release of hostages," Sa'ar said in his meetings with the Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Finnish, and Slovakian foreign ministers. "We are committed to the release of our hostages and to the war's objectives that we set," as per Times of Israel.

Sa'ar also told them that it is time to enforce existing sanctions on Iran and impose new ones.

The hostage-release ceremonies that Hamas has been holding throughout the first phase of the ceasefire have significantly harmed the terror group's chances to remain in power in Gaza, two international diplomats tell The Times of Israel.

Hamas has sought to use the ceremonies to demonstrate that it remains in control of the coastal enclave after over 15 months of war with Israel. Israel and others have rejected the displays as "humiliating" and demanded they stop before any more prisoners are released in exchange for hostages.

A senior Arab diplomat and a senior European Union diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told The Times of Israel that the performances have led the Trump administration to massively ratchet up its pressure on its Arab allies to advance a plan for the post-war management of Gaza that sees Hamas removed from power.

"This was something that the Arab states wanted before but were resigned to the fact that it wasn't possible, given that Israel had tried to defeat Hamas for over a year and couldn't succeed," the EU diplomat said.

"Hamas has been sending signals that it is prepared to give up ruling Gaza. Giving up its weapons will be far more difficult, but that is being discussed in the region in recent weeks," the senior Arab diplomat added, as per The Times of Israel.