The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced in a statement today, Wednesday, that it has agreed with Israel to halt all forms of fighting in Gaza for four days. As part of this agreement, Hamas will release 50 women and children it has in custody in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
The statement added that the agreement, brokered by Egypt and Qatar, will allow hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid, medicine, and fuel to enter all areas of the Gaza Strip. It noted that during the four-day ceasefire, air traffic will be completely halted in southern Gaza and will pause for six hours, from 10 AM to 4 PM local time, in northern Gaza.
It is believed that Hamas is holding over 200 individuals who were taken to Gaza when its fighters infiltrated Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people according to Israeli statistics. A statement issued by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope for the release of more hostages. It indicated that 50 women and children would be released over the four-day ceasefire, and that for every ten additional hostages released, the ceasefire would be extended by another day, without mentioning the release of Palestinian prisoners in return.
The statement, which was released after hours of closed-door discussions not accessible to the press, declared that "the Israeli government is committed to bringing all hostages back home. It approved the proposed agreement tonight as a first step toward achieving this goal." Authorities in Gaza report that Israeli bombardment has leveled vast areas of the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 13,300 civilians in the densely populated territory and leaving about two-thirds of its 2.3 million residents homeless.
