On a day when Hamas released 16 more hostages, negotiators from at least five countries were working feverishly Wednesday toward an extension of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

At the same time, hopes for a long truce were tempered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that the war will continue, and by the Hamas announcement that three Israeli hostages have died, including a 10-month-old child.

Wednesday's hostage release was initially said to involve 10 Israeli citizens and two Russians − dual nationals who are mother and daughter, according to the Times of Israel − but the Israeli military later said it also included four Thai citizens. Among those released is a dual Israeli-American citizen: Liat Beinin Atzili, a 49-year-old teacher and mother of three.

Israel is expected to free 30 Palestinian women and minors from prison as part of the arrangement.

Hamas leaders are willing to extend the truce for four days and release more Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners, the Times of Israel reported, citing a source close to the militant group. Israeli officials also have expressed interest in extending the cease-fire in concert with the release of more hostages.

Officials in Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. have been working with Hamas and Israeli leaders on a temporary extension with an eye toward ending the war. Netanyahu, however, has said fighting will ultimately continue until Hamas has been crushed.

Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, wrote on X that the "time is ripe" for a larger swap.

"Netanyahu can see that Hamas prefers not to return to war but the public insistence on prioritizing return of hostages ties his hands," Indyk wrote. "And pressure from (President Joe) Biden to extend the pause makes it doubly difficult for him to resume the battle."

But a senior Israeli official who spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity said that, despite reports to the contrary, he was "not aware of any possibility" to turn the pause into a longer-term cease-fire involving all the remaining hostages, including men and soldiers, being released in exchange for all Palestinians in Israeli jails.

"We are doubtful there is such an offer," the official said.

The truce began Friday and initially was to last four days, but talks led to a two-day extension through Wednesday that allowed for more releases. The cease-fire has resulted in 96 hostages getting freed, including 72 Israelis, as well as 180 Palestinians, not including those expected to be let go early Thursday. Four hostages were previously released and another one was rescued by Israeli forces.

12 more hostages freed:More Israeli captives released in Gaza

Developments:

∎ Israeli troops killed two Palestinian boys – ages 8 and 15 – during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian health officials said. That increases to 234 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the war began, including 63 children, the U.N. said.

∎ Northern Gaza, which hardly benefited from the influx of humanitarian aid trucks into the strip as it was battered by the Israeli air and ground campaign before the truce, received 21 such trucks Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

∎ Advocacy groups including Amnesty International USA delivered nearly 1 million signatures to the White House calling on Biden to use his influence to bring about a sustained cease-fire.

∎ Pope Francis, during his weekly public audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, expressed support for the temporary truce, the release of hostages and the delivery of aid to Gaza.

∎ Hamas said the release of two Russian hostages came at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Liat Beinin Atzili, who teaches high school and serves as a guide at the Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, became only the second American hostage to be released during the truce. U.S. authorities believe seven or eight Americans remain captive in Gaza.

"We remain determined to secure the release of every person taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal terrorist assault on Israel on October 7, including Liat’s husband Aviv,'' Biden said in a statement.

peaking in Pueblo, Colorado, Biden added that he’d a chance to speak with Atzili’s parents.

“They’re very appreciative and things are moving well,” Biden said of his conversation with Atzili’s family. “She’ll soon be home with her three children.”

Four-year-old Abigail Edan, an Israeli-American dual citizen, was the first U.S. hostage to be released under the cease-fire. Both of her parents were killed in the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7.

White House officials believe seven or eight Americans remain in captivity.

Hamas says three hostages have died

The Israeli military said it was investigating the veracity of a Hamas announcement Wednesday that three Israeli hostages have died "as a result of a former Zionist bombing on the Gaza Strip," apparently prior to the start of the cease-fire. Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said in the Telegram post that Shiri Silverman Bibas, 32, her 4-year-old son Ariel and her 10-month-old son Kfir had died.

“The Hamas terror organization continues to act in a cruel and inhumane manner,” the Israeli military said in a statement. "The responsibility for the safety of all the abductees in the Gaza Strip lies fully with the terrorist organization Hamas."

The Bibas family released a statement to Israel's i24 news saying it was awaiting the report "to be confirmed or hopefully refuted soon by military officials." The statement also thanked the people of Israel for the "warm embrace" the family has received.

Netanyahu: Israel will go back to 'fighting until the end'

Amid the hopes for a longer-lasting peace raised by the current truce and exchange of hostages for prisoners, Israel's Netanyahu has steadfastly maintained the war will resume when the cease-fire ends.

He reiterated that stance Wednesday in a tweet.

“In the last few days I hear a question – will Israel return to fighting after this phase of returning our abductees is exhausted?’’ Netanyahu said, according to the Google translation from the Hebrew. “So my answer is unequivocal – yes. There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end.’’

Netanyahu repeated his three goals for the war: The release of all hostages, the elimination of Hamas and making sure Gaza never threatens Israel again.

“These three goals remain the same,’’ he said.

However, Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, told CNN that about 25 Israeli women and children are still under captivity, so Israel is willing to make good on its offer to extend the truce by a day for every 10 hostages who get released. “The ball is in Hamas’ court,’’ he said.

Israel has been pounding Gaza since militants slipped across the border into Israel on Oct. 7 on a mission of destruction, killing 1,200 people before racing back into Gaza with an estimated 240 hostages. Israel's response has been to level swaths of Gaza in a military campaign that Palestinian authorities say has killed more than 13,000 people.

Former hostage Abigail Edan, 4, discharged from hospital

Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old Israeli American whose parents were killed in the Oct. 7 rampage by Palestinian militants, was discharged from a hospital in Israel late Tuesday night, Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikvah said. She had been admitted for evaluation after spending seven weeks in captivity.

Abigail, a dual citizen, was the first American released under the terms of the current truce as she made it out of Gaza on Sunday along with 16 other hostages held by Hamas. She turned 4 under captivity Friday and her release became a focal point of the Biden administration.

During the attack, Abigail ran to a neighbor’s home for shelter and was taken in by the Brodutch family before militants abducted the family into Gaza. Hagar Brodutch and her three children were also released Sunday.

Icon of Palestinian resistance could be freed today

A Palestinian activist arrested three weeks ago after a social media post promising to slaughter Israeli settlers in the West Bank and "drink your blood" is on the list of Israeli-held Palestinians approved for release today, the Hamas leadership said in a Telegram post. The family of Ahed Tamimi, 22, claims the post was written by an impostor.

Tamimi became a symbol of Palestinian resistance six years ago when she spent eight months in jail for slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier after her cousin was shot with a rubber bullet during a protest.

Reports of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank have been on the rise since the war began. The social media post that caused Tamimi's latest arrest said: “Our message to the herds of settlers is that we are waiting for you in all the West Bank cities, from Hebron to Jenin. We will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke, we will drink your blood and eat your skulls. Come on, we’re waiting for you.”

University presidents to testify on antisemitism on campuses

Republican lawmakers asked three college presidents to testify at a congressional hearing next week about how they've handled a rise in antisemitic incidents on their campuses since the Israel-Hamas war began Oct. 7. The presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology agreed to testify Dec. 5 before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the committee said. The universities have faced public backlash, student demonstrations and alumni revolts since the war began.

“Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen countless examples of antisemitic demonstrations on college campuses,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, who chairs the committee. “Meanwhile, college administrators have largely stood by, allowing horrific rhetoric to fester and grow.” Read more here.

− Zachary Schermele

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; The Associated Press