Abhitesh
After seven weeks of bombings that killed people and damaged property, Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have agreed to a four-day truce that will start on Friday. Later that day, the first group of Israeli prisoners will be freed, Qatar said on Thursday.
What are the details of the deal?
When talking to reporters in Doha, Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said that the peace deal would cover both the north and south of the Gaza Strip.
As part of the deal for the first ceasefire in the war that began when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 50 women and children who were being held hostage by Hamas would be freed. Around 150 Palestinians who were being held in Israeli jails would also be freed.
Ansari also said that 13 women and children would be the first prisoners to be freed on Friday. “If there were a group of hostages from the same family, they would be released together in this first batch,” he said.
“During these four days, information will be collected about the rest of the hostages to consider the possibility of more releases and thus extending the pause,” said Ansari.
But Israel has said that the peace deal could last longer than four days if Hamas freed ten hostages every day. A spokesperson for Qatar also said that the country wanted to reach a new deal to free more hostages in Gaza by the fourth day of the truce. Netanyahu also made it clear that Israel was not finishing its war with Gaza and that the fighting would not be going back to normal any time soon.
Ansari talked about the break and said it meant “a complete ceasefire… with no attacks from the air or the ground.” He also said he hoped “there would be no violations.”
How will it be implemented?
Qatar said that the Red Cross International Committee will work in Gaza to help get the prisoners freed. It is likely that they will be moved through Egypt. During the time of the peace deal, trucks carrying food and fuel are due to cross into Gaza. There, 2.3 million people are running out of food, and many hospitals have had to close because they don’t have enough fuel for their generators.
