US President Joe Biden has said he hoped the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas can go on as long as hostages are being released, after the group freed 17 more people, including a four-year-old Israeli-American girl.

Hamas said it wanted to extend the pause in fighting, which has entered its fourth day and final agreed day today, if serious efforts were made to increase the number of Palestinian detainees released by Israel, Reuters reports.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States are pressing for the truce to be extended but it is not clear whether that will happen.