Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal for the release of 50 women and children hostages held in Gaza in return for 150 Palestinian women and children to be freed from Israeli jails during a four-day ceasefire, both sides announced on Wednesday morning,
The Guardian reports.
The deal was confirmed by a senior US official, who told reporters that the freed hostages would include three Americans, one of them a three year-old girl. The official said that the first hostage release is expected on Thursday morning, and the total number of hostages freed could rise.
US president Joe Biden welcomed the deal and thanked Egypt and Qatar for their “critical leadership and partnership” in reaching the deal. He added: “And I appreciate the commitment that Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government have made in supporting an extended pause to ensure this deal can be fully carried out and to ensure the provision of additional humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinian families in Gaza … It is important that all aspects of this deal be fully implemented.
“Today’s deal should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released.”
The senior US official said: “The deal has ultimately been structured to incentivise releases beyond 50”, adding that the agreement “is now structured for women and children in the first phase, but with an expectation for further releases”.
A statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said the “lull” in Israeli military operations would be extended for an additional day for every 10 more hostages released. It did not say when the ceasefire would start, though in his address to his cabinet, Benjamin Netanyahu said the first hostages should be free within 48 hours of the agreement.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said early on Wednesday that the start time of the deal would be announced in the next 24 hours and that the ceasefire will “allow the entry of a larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid, including fuel designated for humanitarian needs”.
Hamas confirmed an agreement had been reached, calling it a “humanitarian truce” in which 150 Palestinian women and children would be freed from Israeli jails. The militant movement said that expanded humanitarian deliveries were also part of the agreement, as well as a halt to Israeli air sorties over southern Gaza during the four-day pause, with sorties over northern Gaza restricted to six hours a day. According to the Hamas statement, Israel agreed not to arrest anyone in Gaza for the duration of the temporary truce.
