The agreement includes a temporary ceasefire for a period of four days pending the release of the hostages, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
Hamas also confirmed the agreement, according to Reuters.
Just before 02:00 Norwegian time on Wednesday, the message came that the Israeli government had approved the agreement.
Israel reportedly agreed to extend the ceasefire by one day for every ten hostages released.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote that there was a five-day ceasefire.
The United States was central to the efforts to conclude the agreement with Qatar.
Qatar says that the start date of the ceasefire will be announced within 24 hours.
An American spokesman said that three American hostages, including a girl who will soon turn four, will be released, according to Reuters. The girl’s parents were killed on October 7. The official spokesman says that launches could begin 24 hours after the agreement is announced.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden eventually helped improve the agreement, to include the release of a number of hostages.
Points in the agreement
The agreement must be six pages long and contain a number of points:
- Hamas intends to release 50 women and children held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
- Israel is set to release between 150 and 300 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, most of them women and children.
- The hostages will be released in batches over a period of four days. It requires stopping Israeli air strikes and stopping fighting on the ground between Israeli soldiers and Hamas soldiers. Thus, a temporary truce was reached.
- 300 trucks loaded with emergency aid are allowed to enter the Gaza Strip daily during the five days of the ceasefire. This also includes fuel, which allows hospitals and other essential functions to be powered by generators.
There are still an unknown number of hostages
The number of hostages being held in Gaza is unknown. The number was previously at least 237 civilians and soldiers. They were kidnapped from Israel on October 7.
No one knows how many of them are alive. Some have been confirmed dead. Four civilian women and one soldier were released on humanitarian grounds. At least one soldier was released in Israeli operations.
In addition to the hostages held by Hamas itself, about 40 hostages are said to have been captured by other groups.
Islamic Jihad announced on Tuesday evening via the Telegram messaging service that the elderly hostage they were holding has now died.
They claim to have offered to release the woman on humanitarian grounds, but Israel has so far refused to agree to the deal. This has not been confirmed by independent sources.
Truce and peace – for both
In the Gaza Strip, hope for a ceasefire was strong.
– The war really exhausted us. Every day we hope to wake up to news of a shooting“Laugh,” Hatem Al Ousli says to a local photographer with whom NRK is collaborating On the Gaza Strip.
Hatem Al-Awsali hopes that the bombing and destruction will end soon.
Photography: Jibril Abu Kamil/NRK
– We can take no more shocks, no more lows, no more reports that we’ve lost someone, no more devastation, Hatem Al Ousali says:
He is not alone in wanting to end the war.
– We want a ceasefire. Both for us and for the Jews, says Muhammad Bureij.
– DrSee how it is, he says and points.
Muhammad Bureij calls for a ceasefire, both for Palestinians and Jews.
Photography: Jibril Abu Kamil/NRK
– We want to shower like everyone else, and now we can get water every two weeks. We don’t have electricity. We want to sleep, but we can’t sleep. We want to eat, but there is no food. No drink, says Brij.
– We just want to live.
Families of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip set up a large table in Museum Square in Tel Aviv, waiting for the hostages to return to their homes.
Photography: Ahmed Al-Gharbally/AFP
Netanyahu is under pressure
In Israel, the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are under intense pressure to release Israeli and foreign hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Many hostage families believe that the government prioritized revenge against Hamas at the expense of the hostages’ fate.
Netanyahu responded that force is the only language Hamas understands, and to this day maintains that there will be no ceasefire until all the hostages are released.
– We hope that the hostages will return to their homeland as soon as possible, says young woman Rotem Akav to NRK in what was renamed Hostage Square in Tel Aviv.
The area is dominated by posters of the 237 who were captured. Her cousin Omar Winkert is one of them. He was present at the music festival that Hamas fighters stormed on October 7.
The cousin is unlikely to be among the first to be released, given that women and children will be released first.
– We are of course happy about that. But we hope that there will be more prisoner exchanges and that the rest of the hostages will be released as well. Many of them are sick and need medication, Omar is among them and we very much hope he will be released soon, says Rothem.
She says family and friends are staying together and trying to stay strong.
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