The White House and Qatari negotiators have said that the original four-day pause in fighting in Gaza, due to expire at 7am local time on Tuesday (0500 GMT), has been extended for two more days.

US national security council spokesman John Kirby said that “in order to extend the pause, Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children”.

“We have an extension ... two more days,” Qatar’s UN ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani told reporters after a closed-door UN security council meeting, saying both sides were to release more people. “This is a very positive step.”

Israel has not commented on any agreement to extend the truce but, in what may be an implicit confirmation, the Israeli prime minister’s office said the government had approved the addition of 50 female prisoners to its list of Palestinians for potential release if additional Israeli hostages are freed.

Israel had previously said it would extend the truce by one day for every 10 more hostages released.

While describing the extension as “a glimpse of hope and humanity,” UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said two more days was not enough time to meet Gaza’s aid needs.

“I strongly hope that this will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that (are) suffering so much - knowing that even with that additional amount of time, it will be impossible to satisfy all the dramatic needs of the population,” Guterres told reporters.

/The Guardian