Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement to release dozens of hostages in exchange for a five-day pause in the bombing of Gaza, according to the newspaper published this Saturday. Washington Post. The agreement, mediated by Qatar, could be launched in the coming days, allowing the departure of children and women kidnapped by the Islamist group and the first sustained pause in the Israeli offensive in the enclave since the start of the war. However, it has not yet been confirmed by any of the parties involved.

In addition, it would facilitate the entry of help humanitarian over the Rafah crossing, on the border between the Strip and Gaza. The pact was set out in a six-page document and provides for aerial surveillance to monitor compliance, the US newspaper added.

The war was unleashed on October 7, when militants from the armed wing of Hamas infiltrated Israeli territory, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 240. Since then, the Israeli Army has attacked the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamists of Hamas, by land, sea and air, leaving more than 12,000 dead and thousands internally displaced.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, pointed out this Saturday in a column in the same Washington Post that His “heart aches” over the loss of Palestinian civilian lives, but he again opposed a ceasefire because he considers that it would be used by Hamas to “rebuild its rocket arsenal” and prepare new attacks on Israel.