Israel, Hamas agree on deal for release of hostages and facilitate aid in Gaza; see details

Qatar's foreign ministry announced an agreement between Hamas and Israel for a four-day humanitarian pause in Gaza hostilities on Wednesday. This pause, facilitated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, is subject to extension, with the exact start time to be announced within 24 hours.

As per Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office’s statement, this pause involves the release of 50 civilian women and children hostages held in the Gaza Strip. In exchange, a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons will be released.

For every additional 10 hostages released, the pause would be extended by another day, it said, without mentioning the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. "Israel's government is committed to returning all the hostages home. Tonight, it approved the proposed deal as a first stage to achieving this goal," said the statement.

Hamas said the 50 hostages would be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children who are held in Israeli jails. The truce deal will also allow hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, medical and fuel aid to enter Gaza, the Palestinian group said in a statement.

The Qatar government said 50 civilian women and children hostages would be released from Gaza in exchange for the release "of a number of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons".

The starting time of the truce would be announced within the next 24 hours.

The agreement marks the initial ceasefire in a conflict where Israeli airstrikes have extensively damaged areas in Gaza governed by Hamas. According to Gaza authorities, the bombings have claimed the lives of 13,300 civilians in the densely populated region and displaced approximately two-thirds of its 2.3 million inhabitants.

Qatar's chief negotiator in ceasefire talks, Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, told Reuters that the International Committee of the Red Cross would be working inside Gaza to facilitate the hostages' release.

"(It's) going to be an intensive period where we're going to be 24/7 in direct communication with the ICRC and the two parties making sure that we perfect the release of the hostages," Al-Khulaifi said.

He said that the truce means there would be "no attack whatsoever. No military movements, no expansion, nothing."

US President Joe Biden said he welcomed the deal. "Today’s deal should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released," he said in a statement.

(With Agency inputs)

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