The truce between Israel and Hamas will start on Friday morning and a first group of 13 hostages in the hands of the Palestinian Islamist group will be released in the afternoon, Qatar, which mediated between both sides, announced on Thursday.
“The humanitarian pause will begin at 7:00 a.m. (05:00 GMT) on Friday,” declared the spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed al Ansari.
“The same day, around 4:00 p.m.” 13 hostages, women and children, will be released, he added.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedin al Qasam Brigades, confirmed “a cessation of all military operations” for four days starting Friday and the exchange of a total of 50 hostageswomen and 19-year-old children, in exchange for the release of three Palestinian prisoners for each kidnapped.
Israel confirmed that it received a “first list of names” of hostages and that is “in contact with all families.”
Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, had announced on Wednesday a four-day truce, accompanied by an exchange of captive hostages in Loop against Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel.
The agreement provides for an exchange “10 hostages for 30 prisoners” on the first day of the truce, and a total of 50 civilian hostages freed in four days by 150 Palestinians.
Israel released a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners who can be released: 33 women and 267 minors under 19 years of age.
The international community welcomed the agreement with optimism, seeing it as a first step towards a lasting ceasefire.
The UN described it as “important step” but considered that “There is much to do”.
Bombings in Khan Yunis
The agreement was announced after almost seven weeks of a war sparked by an October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli soil that according to Israeli authorities left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians.
In addition, 240 people were kidnapped on the day of the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement and taken to the Gaza Strip.
In response, Israel launched an offensive against Loop that according Hamashas left more than 14,000 dead in this Palestinian territory, including more than 5,800 children.
The fighting continued all night in this small territory of 360 km2, on which Israel has imposed a “total siege”cutting off the supply of water, food, electricity and fuel.
The Palestinian Wafa agency reported Israeli bombings that caused “tens” of deaths in different sectors of Gaza.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is involved in the fighting, reported clashes in the heart of Gaza City in the northern Strip. In the south, the attacks targeted Khan Yunis, from which immense columns of black smoke rose.
“I estimate there are about 20 people under the rubble”said a Palestinian searching for survivors under a destroyed building in the east of the city.
The director of Al Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, was detained along with several other directors, a doctor said.
The doctor Mohamed Abu Salmiya was “transfer for interrogation”, confirmed on Thursday the israeli armywhich controls the hospital where he inspects the underground military infrastructure used, according to him, by Hamas.
“A difficult decision”
The Israeli government accepted the truce agreement despite internal opposition.
“I often have to choose between a difficult decision and an even more difficult one, and this is particularly the case with hostages,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi, who supports Hamas and whose country does not recognize Israel, stated that “temporary ceasefire” was “a great victory” for the Islamist movement.
“This gives me hope that my daughters will come back,” declared Maayan Zin, mother of two girls kidnapped in Gaza.
Insufficient truce
The agreement, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, should provide a respite for the population of Gaza and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, which has arrived in dribs and drabs in trucks from Egypt.
Between 200 and 300 trucks will enter Loopeight of them with fuel and gas, according to Taher al Nunu, a Hamas official.
Several international NGOs affirmed that the truce will not be enough for the necessary aid to arrive, in addition to “not being enough in terms of human rights.”
Despite the agreement, Israel stated that it will continue the war to “eliminate Hamas and ensure that there is no threat to the State of Israel from Gaza.”
“We confirm that our fingers will continue to be on the triggers,” warned, for its part, the Islamist movement, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
“They talk about a truce, but… what truce? A truce with wounded, dead and destroyed houses? “We don’t want a truce if we can’t return to our homes, we don’t want a truce for a little food,” Maysara snapped at Sabbagh, sheltered in Khan Yunis.
The war also raises fears of a regional conflagration, especially between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah.
Source: Gestion
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