The Islamic group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, firing rockets into the Gaza Strip. Nearly two months later, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to suspend hostilities and release 13 of the 50 hostages held by the Islamic group in exchange for 150 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
When will the ceasefire agreement come into force?
On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a temporary truce. The truce began this Friday at 7:00 am local time (5:00 am Lisbon time) and will last for four days.
The release of 13 of the 50 Hamas hostages is scheduled for 16:00 local time (14:00 Lisbon time).
How will the agreement be implemented?
The International Committee of the Red Cross will work in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the release of the hostages, Qatar said.
The hostages are expected to be transported through Egypt, the only country other than Israel that borders the Gaza Strip.
During the truce, trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel are expected to enter the Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million people have run out of food and many hospitals have closed, in part because they no longer have fuel to meet their needs, according to Reuters. .
How will the hostages be released?
Thirteen hostages, among about 240 taken by Hamas, are expected to be released in batches of perhaps a dozen a day during the four-day ceasefire, Reuters reported.
The parties to the agreement called the cessation of hostilities a “humanitarian pause.” The pause will be extended by one day for each additional batch of 10 hostages released, Israel said in a statement.
Who are the hostages who will be released?
In addition to the Israeli civilians and soldiers captured by Hamas, more than half of the approximately 240 hostages are foreigners and citizens of some 40 countries, including Argentina, Britain, Chile, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Thailand and the United States. states, the Israeli government said.
Israel has provided a list of about 300 Palestinian prisoners who could be released. The Palestinian Prisoners Society said Israel was holding 7,200 prisoners as of Wednesday, including 88 women and 250 children aged 17 or younger.
Most of the 300 detainees are from the West Bank and Jerusalem and were arrested for attempted stabbings, stoning Israeli soldiers, making explosives and damaging property.
Who negotiated the deal?
The agreement was brokered by Qatar with the support of the United States, which played an important role. US President Joe Biden was in contact with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the weeks leading up to the signing of the agreement.
Hamas militants killed 1,200 people when they launched an attack on Israel, the highest number of deaths in a single day on Israeli soil, and more than 14,000 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes and ground incursions, the highest in the recent war .
Initial negotiations for an agreement between Israel and Hamas began just days after the October 7 attack, but progress has been slow and even with an agreement, the ceasefire is temporary.
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Author: Andrea Churra Pereira This Daniela Vilar Santos
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.