GULF TIMES
Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire in Gaza for at least four days, to let in aid and release at least 50 hostages captured by militants in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel. The first truce in a brutal near seven-week-old war, reached after mediation by Qatar, was hailed around the world as a sign of progress that could ease the suffering of Gaza’s civilians and bring more Israeli hostages home. Israel said the ceasefire could be extended further if more hostages were freed, and a Palestinian source said as many as 100 hostages in total could be released by the end of the month.
Hamas and allied groups captured around 240 hostages when gunmen rampaged through southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7. Previously, Hamas had released just four.
The truce was not expected to begin until Thursday morning, and the start time had yet to be officially announced as of Wednesday afternoon.
A statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday night said 50 women and children would be released over four days at a rate of at least 10 per day. Beyond that, the truce could be extended day by day, as long as an additional ten hostages were freed per day.
Israel’s justice ministry published a list of 300 names of Palestinian prisoners who could be freed.
“Israel’s government is committed to return all the hostages home. Tonight, it approved the proposed deal as a first stage to achieving this goal,” said the government statement.
Hamas said the initial 50 hostages would be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails. Hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, medical and fuel supplies would enter Gaza, while Israel would halt all air sorties over southern Gaza and maintain a daily six-hour daytime no-fly window in the north, it said.
The Palestinian source said the initial 50 hostages set to be freed would be followed by another 50, in return for a further 150 Palestinian prisoners: “The second batch will follow the first batch. They would need four or five days to organise.”
Israel has placed Gaza under siege and relentless bombardment since the Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 14,000 Gazans have been killed, around 40% of them children, according to medical officials in Gaza.
