The government of Israel accepted this Tuesday the agreement with the Islamist group Hamas for the release of 50 kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a four-day truce. Hours before the announcement, Hamas had already announced that “the ball” was “in Israel’s court” after the group informed mediators in Qatar and Egypt of its position on the agreement.
All members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s executive voted in favor of the exchange and truce except the three ministers of the Jewish Power Party (Otzma Yehudit), of the far-right and Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.
In the absence of knowing the terms of the agreement, which Qatar is expected to announce in the next few hours, information leaked to Israeli media indicates that The pact includes the release of a minimum of 50 hostages, mostly children and their mothers, with the possibility that the number could be expanded to 80., in addition to a ceasefire of at least four days, which could be extended for several more days. Hamas will take the hostages to Egypt through the Rafah crossing in daily groups of about ten and, from there, they will be transferred to Israel.
For its part, Israel must release about 150 Palestinian prisoners, also mostly women and minors who are not convicted of blood crimes. In addition, the Army agrees not to fly over the Gaza Strip for six hours a day while the truce is in force to allow Hamas to locate hostages held by other armed groups, such as Islamic Jihad.
In a brief statement published after today’s meeting, the Israeli Executive stressed that “it is obliged to return all the hostages home.” “Tonight, the Government approved the outline of the first stage to achieve this objective, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which there will be a pause in the fighting “says the note, explaining that for every ten additional hostages that are released, there will be one more day of pause.
By some estimates, Hamas is holding between 210 and 240 hostages, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad is holding around 30.
The agreement would also include, according to the Hebrew press, the entry into the Strip, including the northern part, of 100 to 300 trucks with food and medical aid, as well as fuel. Likewise, according to Israeli public television, temporary cessation of hostilities will begin on Thursday to give 24 hours for the presentation of possible appeals to the government decision before the Supreme Court. No soldiers or men will be released nor will the bodies of deceased hostages be recovered. However, the media stated that they could exchange elderly men and hostages with foreign nationality.
Another point highlighted by the Israeli press is that Hamas must provide the names of the people who will be released one day in advance.
Netanyahu assured before the government meeting that the agreement includes that the Red Cross will visit the hostages and offer them medical help. Before his Cabinet discussions, the prime minister assured that accepting this agreement, which according to Hamas has been under discussion for a month, “is a difficult decision, but it is the right decision.” However, Netanyahu warned that This truce does not mean the end of the offensivewhich has caused more than 14,000 deaths, of which more than 5,000 are children.
“Many nonsense things are being said out there, such as that after the pause to return our hostages, we will stop the war. Let it be clear: we are at war and we will continue the war. “We will continue the war until we achieve all of our war objectives: Eliminate Hamas, return all our hostages and missing persons and ensure that there is no element in Gaza that threatens Israel,” Netanyahu said before the meeting.
Related news
This pause comes after weeks of increasing pressure from the international community and major international organizations, such as the United Nations, to stop the incessant attacks, which have also left more than 1.5 million displaced.
Israel declared war on Hamas following the attack launched by the Islamist group against Israel on October 7, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 240 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.