Tel Aviv/Gaza, 27 November 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the current ceasefire by two days, just hours before it was due to expire, Qatari officials said on Monday.

"The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al Ansari wrote on X.

The announcement came only a few hours before the end of the ceasefire in the Gaza war which has been in effect since Friday morning.

The agreement struck by the sides last week provides for the possibility of extending the ceasefire in return for the release of a further 10 hostages per day.