Doha (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A 15-month war may come to an end after Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to stop hostilities in Gaza and swap Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza crisis.
The deal between Israel and Hamas would provide Gazans with their second reprieve from conflict since the start of the Israeli attack and their first in almost a year.
Sources said Israel expects to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages captured during the October 7, 2023, attacks.
With this agreement, the long-suffering people of Gaza, who have faced dire humanitarian conditions for more than a year. They will finally see relief.
The agreement is anticipated to enable a large-scale flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and permit Palestinian civilians to get back to northern Gaza once it is finalised.
Following this, Senator James E Risch said this during the Marco Rubio hearing, “the committee, I’ve just been advised that there’s been a ceasefire announced in Gaza. Before we all celebrate though obviously, we’re all going to want to see how that executes with that.”
What role did Donald Trump play in the Gaza Hostage deal?
The deal came just ahead of the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20 and after months of talks that had flared periodically with Egyptian and Qatari mediators who have backed those from the United States.
After Hamas-led terrorists breached security barriers and stormed into Israeli neighbourhoods on October 7, 2023, murdering 1,200 soldiers and civilians and taking more than 250 Israeli and foreign prisoners, Israeli armies invaded Gaza.
According to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed over 46,000 people and left the little coastal community in ruins, with hundreds of thousands of residents suffering the winter cold in improvised shelters and tents.
Trump maintained his call for an expeditious agreement as his inauguration drew near, threatening “hell to pay” if the hostages were not freed. Steve Witkoff, his Middle East envoy, collaborated with President Joe Biden’s team to close the agreement.
The release of the captives could help relieve public resentment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing administration in Israel for the security lapse on October 7, 2024, which resulted in the worst day in the nation’s history.
Israel, Hamas reach ceasefire deal designed to end 15-month Gaza war
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How is Israel responding to allegations of domestic opposition over hostages?
Along with the accusations of sexual abuse of Palestinian captives by Israeli military personnel, which Israel has stated it is looking into, world leaders have also sharply criticised incidences of sexual assault during Hamas’ war on Israel.
Most of Israel’s allies have backed its proxy fight against Iran, which the United States has long accused of providing financial assistance to Hezbollah and Hamas, both of whom are located in Lebanon.
In November, Israel and Hezbollah reached an agreement to implement a ceasefire that has mainly been held, ending months of bloody conflict. The scope and character of Israel’s assault have prompted international censure.
Israel has denied those charges, calling them antisemitic and untrue.
Israeli society is divided over the situation of the dozens of hostages that Hamas still holds, and the families of the hostages are leading an effort to persuade the government to reach an agreement.
However, Netanyahu has also been subject to domestic opposition, with several senior ministers calling the agreement a “surrender” as some segments of Israeli society advocate for a more firm stance.
Is the deal between Israel and Hamas officially confirmed?
Although the agreement between Israel and Hamas has not been formally published, Basem Naim, a top Hamas leader, indicated that the militant group had accepted it.
We are very happy to reach a deal today to stop the aggression against our people, but unfortunately we were able to reach the same deal last May,
Naim said.
The revelation was also verified by an Israeli official informed on the agreement and another person with firsthand knowledge of the negotiations.
Later on Wednesday, President Joe Biden was scheduled to speak about the deal.
Carmel Gat’s cousin, Gil Dickmann, said that it was “very exciting” to know that the hostages will ultimately be released.
It’s also really sad to know that Carmel could have and should have been among them but a deal didn’t come in time and she was murdered in captivity,
he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to meet with his security cabinet, where prompt acceptance of the agreement is expected, an official source in Washington told. He would next present the agreement to the entire Cabinet, which is also anticipated to provide its approval.
According to the source, a ceasefire could start as early as Friday because Israel’s Supreme Court would have 24 hours to allow an appeal. The source said that the first batch of hostages would be released on Sunday.
After several false dawns in recent months, the likelihood of a ceasefire appeared to be fading.
