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Israel’s Cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas that will free at least 50 hostages in return for a four-day pause in fighting, the prime minister’s office said.
In the first stage of the deal mediated by Qatar, Hamas is expected to free Israeli women and children held in Gaza. Hamas, in a statement published on Telegram shortly after, said Israel has agreed to release about 150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and minors, in return.
In a second stage, the release of every 10 additional hostages will result in an additional day of the pause, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement. It’s still unclear when the deal will take effect.
“The Government of Israel, the IDF and the security services will continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza,” the statement said.
Hamas, in its statement, said: “After difficult and complex negotiations for many days, we announce that we have reached a humanitarian truce agreement for four days, with tireless Qatari and Egyptian efforts.”
According to Hamas, the deal includes:
—Entry of hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian, medical and fuel aid to all Gaza Strip areas, both in the north and south.
—Halting air traffic in the south for four days.
—Halting air traffic in the north for six hours daily.
—During the pause in fighting period, Israel commits not to target or arrest anyone in all Gaza Strip areas.
Over the next 24 hours, the names of the Palestinian prisoners set to be released will be made public so that Israelis can appeal to the courts against their being freed, Axios reported earlier, citing an unidentified Israeli official who briefed reporters earlier Tuesday.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had clarified the government’s position at the start of the Cabinet meeting.
“There is nonsense out there as if after the pause in fighting, we will stop the war,” he said.
“We are at war and we will continue it until we achieve all the objectives,” Netanyahu added. “We will eliminate Hamas, return all the hostages and guarantee that there will be no element in Gaza that threatens Israel.”
Qatar is helping broker the talks between Israel and Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union.
Qatar will run an operations room that will be in contact with the Israelis, Hamas, the Red Cross and U.S. officials to ensure that the elements of the deal go through.
The developments come as international pressure grows on Israel to end its more than six-week retaliatory offensive in Gaza, which authorities in the Hamas-run enclave say has killed more than 14,000 people and triggered a humanitarian crisis.
The government media office said 6,800 people are reported missing or trapped under the rubble. Israel has said the Hamas attacks that started the conflict on Oct. 7 killed more than 1,200 people.
In the meantime, Israeli forces have been engaged in intense fighting with Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip even as the hostage talks have progressed. The main thrust of Israel’s ground offensive is into Gaza City, which the military describes as Hamas’ “center of gravity.”
Troops have taken control of many parts of the city’s Al Shifa hospital and over the weekend showed videos they say prove Hamas exploited the facility, building a command center and tunnels underneath.