AFP
Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire and the release of 50 hostages
Israel and Hamas announced a deal on Wednesday that could see the release of at least 50 hostages and dozens of Palestinian prisoners, while besieged Gaza residents are offered a four-day truce after weeks of all-out war. In the first major diplomatic breakthrough in the war, Palestinian militants will release 50 women and children abducted during their raids on October 7 during a four-day truce. After weeks of Qatar-mediated negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office approved the ceasefire deal on Wednesday after a meeting that lasted almost all night. He told ministers this was a “difficult decision, but it is the right decision”. The cabinet signing was one of the final stumbling blocks after what one US official described as five “extremely excruciating” weeks of talks. In a statement welcoming the “humanitarian ceasefire” it said 150 Palestinians would also be released from Israeli prisons. “The resistance is committed to the ceasefire as long as the occupation honors it,” a Hamas official told AFP. Hamas gunmen were executed on October 7. a cross-border attack, the worst in Israel’s history, that killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to the Israeli government. Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups also took an estimated 240 Israelis and foreigners hostage, including the elderly and young children. Israel declared war on Hamas and promised to bring the hostages home and destroy the militant group. Israel launched a major bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza, causing deaths in the area, according to the Hamas government. 14,100 people, including thousands of children. Israel said that to facilitate the release of hostages it would initiate a four-day “pause” in its six-week air, land and sea assault on Gaza, while insisting the agreement did not do that. means the end of the war. For every 10 additional hostages released, there would be an additional day of “pause,” the Israeli government said. – ‘Brave souls’ – Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another militant group that took part in the October 7 attacks, had previously told AFP that the ceasefire would include a ceasefire on the ground and a pause in Israeli air operations over southern Gaza. The negotiations involved the US Central Intelligence Agency, Israel’s overseas spy agency Mossad, Egyptian intelligence and leaders. Doha, Cairo, Washington, Gaza and Israel. A senior US official said three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, were among 50 who would be released on a staggered basis starting Thursday. US President Joe Biden said he was “extremely pleased that some of these brave souls… will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented.” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the deal, saying that “a number of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons” would be released in return. for the hostages. “The start time of the break will be announced within the next 24 hours and will last for four days, subject to extension,” the ministry said. The deal was welcomed by countries including Britain, China, Egypt, France and Germany, whose Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock praised the “breakthrough” and said that “the humanitarian pause must be used to provide essential aid to the people in Gaza’. – Doubts – Ahead of the Israeli cabinet vote, Netanyahu faced criticism from within his right-wing coalition, some of whom said the deal gave Palestinian militants too much. Hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir signaled he would vote against the deal, saying it should include the release of Israeli soldiers also taken by Hamas. But with dozens of families in Israel desperate for their loved ones to return home, and the Israeli public gripped by the fate of the hostages, the government has finally put all doubts aside. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said before the crucial meeting that he had received assurances that the deal would not end the war. “Immediately after we exhaust this phase,” he said, security operations would “continue with full force.” The government underlined in a statement that Israel “will continue the war to return all hostages home, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that no new threat to the State of Israel will arise from Gaza.” – ‘Unbearable situation’ – Earlier, Gaza resident Hamza Abdel Razeq said he would welcome any ceasefire agreement, hoping it would bring some reprieve. “People are really suffering,” he told AFP. “I believe this is the way will pave the way for longer ceasefires or even a total ceasefire.” A US official said there was also hope the deal would lead to a “complete pause” in fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border with Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, The border has seen escalating gun battles, leaving dozens dead on both sides. Another Gaza resident, Mahmud Abu Najm, said: “We… pray to God for its success because the people are in an unbearable situation. Large parts of Gaza have been razed by thousands of airstrikes, and the area is under siege, with minimal access to food, water and fuel. Israel has pushed its offensive north in recent days. Gaza. The Israeli military said airstrikes had hit “approximately 250” Hamas targets over the past day, destroying three underground shafts in the Jabalia area, which it said it had completely surrounded. At Indonesia’s Jabalia hospital, the Hamas-led health ministry said strikes had killed dozens, but there was no independent confirmation of the toll. The Israeli army later said its forces had “directly attacked” the flashpoint from the Indonesian hospital. The aid group Doctors Without Borders said three doctors, including two on duty, were killed in an Israeli attack on Al-Awda hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp. Israel says Hamas uses medical facilities to hide fighters and as bases for operations, turning them into legitimate military targets, while insisting it is doing everything possible to limit harm to civilians.burs-fz/