The keys to the agreement between Israel and Hamas for a 4-day truce in Gaza and the release of hostages

A month and a half after the start of the war between Israel It is Hamas In Gaza, from Thursday the Palestinian enclave will have peace for at least four days and several of the hostages detained by the Islamic movement will return home. This is the agreement that the Israeli Government approved on Wednesday morning, after complex negotiations mediated by Qatar and accompanied by Egypt and the United States.

“The Government approved the main lines of the first phase of an agreement according to which at least 50 kidnapped people (women and children) will be released for four days during which there will be a truce in the fighting,” reported Israel.

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Hamas also referred to the decision: “After difficult and complex negotiations over many days, we announce, with the help and success of Almighty God, that we have reached an agreement on a humanitarian truce (temporary ceasefire) for a period of four days, with the persistent and appreciated the efforts of Qatar and Egypt,” the Islamic movement said in a statement.

Through a statement, the main Israeli association of families of those kidnapped by Hamas, the Hostage and Missing Families Forumsaid: “We are very happy… At the moment we don’t know exactly who will be released or when.”

A man and a boy walk past portraits of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in Tel Aviv on November 21, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP). (AHMAD GHARABLI/)

While the president of U.Ss, Joe Biden, stated in a statement that he is “extraordinarily satisfied May some of these brave souls… be reunited with their families as soon as the agreement has been fully implemented.”

On October 7th, Hamas It unexpectedly infiltrated Israeli territory for several hours and killed at least 1,200 people, most of them civilians. In addition, the attackers abducted around 240 people, including Israeli men, women and children, as well as foreigners from 26 countries.

Israeli soldiers carry bodies of murdered Israelis in kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the border with Gaza, on October 10, 2023. (EFE/EPA/ATEF SAFADI). (ATEF SAFADI/)

In retaliation, that same day Israel declared war on Hamas started bombing Link. Subsequently, it began a ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave. The number so far resulting from Israeli actions is more than 14,000 Palestinians killed, almost half of whom are children.

Relatives cry during the funeral of members of the Kalusa family, killed in an Israeli attack in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS/AFP). (MAHMUD HAMS/)

Of the 240 people kidnapped, four women were released in October, in the first weeks of the war: an American mother and daughter, and two elderly Israeli women. Furthermore, a soldier was rescued by the army of Israel and the bodies of two abducted women, a 19-year-old soldier and a 65-year-old woman, were found inside the Gaza Strip.

Fights between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. (AFP).

The pact announced on Wednesday It is designed to take effect in several stages, according to information obtained by the EFE agency. This is what is known so far about the agreement:

Hamas confirmed that the agreement will come into force on Thursday, at 10 am, after giving a 24-hour margin mandatory under Israeli law for possible appeals to the Supreme Court of Justice.

Hamas agreed to hand over more than 50 hostages of the 240 he kidnapped on October 7. While Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners who have not been convicted of blood crimes, among whom priority will be given to women and minors.

Hamas will free women It is children. It will not hand over Israeli soldiers or adult men, nor will the bodies of deceased hostages be recovered. Yes, elderly people and hostages with foreign nationality could be exchanged.

According to the agreement, the truce will last a minimum of four days, with the possibility of being extended to a maximum of ten, during which the fighting will be completely stopped.

The 50 hostages will be released in four batches, on each of the four days of the truce, on an average of 12 per day.

The hostages will leave Link for the crossing of Rafa to Egypt, from where they will be transferred to Israel. This is where humanitarian aid also enters the enclave.

Israel will release 150 Palestinians as soon as the 50 hostages arrive on its territory.

If the release of the 50 hostages goes as agreed, The truce can be extended for a maximum of 10 days for Hamas to release another 100 kidnapped people, in exchange for the release of up to 300 Palestinian prisoners.

Under the agreement, the army Israel undertakes not to fly drones and planes over Gaza for six hours a day while the truce lasts. This to allow Hamas locate hostages held by other armed groups, such as Islamic Jihad, which is also part of the pact.

The agreement also provides for the daily entry into Gaza of 100 to 300 trucks with food and medical aid, as well as fuel.

The Red Cross will be authorized to visit militia hostages and provide them with medical care

Israel emphasized that The truce does not mean the end of your offensive. He assured that his armed forces “will continue the war to return all kidnapped people, eliminate Hamas and ensure that there is no threat to the State of Israel from Gaza.”

Smoke rises during an Israeli bombardment of Gaza on November 21, 2023. (Photo FADEL SENNA/AFP). (FADEL SENNA/)

The negotiations between Hamas It is IsraelMediated by Qatar and with the monitoring of Egypt It is U.Slasted three weeks.

Conversations were completed due to the slowness of which communications were transferred, because each message had to pass from Doha (Qatar) or El Cairo (Egypt), to Hamas in Gaza and on the way back, before being transmitted to Israel and U.S.

The Israeli negotiating party accepted the agreement on Sunday and Hamas He did it on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, the Government of Israel He endorsed it, with which it was sealed.

According to CNN, during the negotiations an issue that was on the table was the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza. When the deal seemed done, Hamas He threatened to reject it if the Israeli army did not abandon this complex, which was occupied on November 15th. Israel he refused to do so, but promised to keep the hospital running.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2023. (Photo by Abir SULTAN/POOL/AFP) (ABIR SULTAN/)

According to CNN, in early November, during the visit of the United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for Israel, pressured the government of Benjamin Netanyahu accepting “humanitarian pauses,” something Washington considered the first step in paving the way for the hostages’ release. However, a few hours after that meeting, Netanyahu He publicly rejected the idea. Later, international pressure took effect and the Israeli prime minister ended up accepting the agreement, which comes into force on Thursday.

Source: Elcomercio