Negotiations behind the scenes are ongoing to further extend the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, as they entered their sixth day of truce on Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to a two-day extension, following the initial four-day pause that started last Friday.

On Tuesday, Hamas released 12 people including 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals. In exchange, Israel released 30 jailed Palestinians.

Haneen Masaid was freed near Bethlehem in the West Bank.

Masaid arrived home early on Wednesday to be reunited with her family and relatives. They hugged her with joy.

She said she was very happy to be released, but added that she could not rejoice exuberantly as many people have been killed in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media says Israel has received a list of hostages expected to be released next.

In the past five days, Hamas has released 81 hostages, including Israelis and foreign nationals, and Israel has freed 180 jailed Palestinians.

Meanwhile, multiple media outlets report that the heads of the US spy agency CIA and Israel's Mossad visited Qatar on Tuesday to meet with the Qatari prime minister, who serves as a mediator, and the head of Egypt's intelligence agency.

A major US newspaper says the CIA chief is pushing for Hamas and Israel to broaden the focus of their hostage negotiations, which has so far been limited to women and children, to include the release of men and military personnel.

Some Western and Middle Eastern media said on Wednesday that negotiations are underway to extend the truce for several more days.

But a major Israeli media outlet reported that the Israeli side is unwilling to agree to a pause that exceeds a total of 10 days.