2023-11-22 09:42:36
After weeks of war and parallel negotiations, an agreement was finally reached during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. Hamas and Israel agreed on the release of 50 hostages, kidnapped by the terrorist group on October 7, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a truce in the Gaza Strip.
The agreement to release hostages is “the right decision” to take, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Tuesday evening, before the start of his cabinet meeting which continued early Wednesday with this green light. Hamas, whose leader Ismaïl Haniyeh had reported progress in the talks, welcomed the “humanitarian truce” decision, specifying that the “provisions of this agreement were formulated in accordance with the vision of the resistance”.
Authorities in Qatar, the Gulf emirate at the center of the truce talks, also confirmed an agreement had been reached overnight, thanking Egypt and the United States for contributing to mediations.
Women and children freed
240 hostages were captured by Hamas on October 7, during the terrorist group’s attack on Israel which left 1,200 dead, mainly civilians. Only some of them are affected by the resolutions. The Israeli government said in a statement that it had “approved the outline of the first stage of an agreement under which at least 50 abductees – women and children – will be released.” However, no soldier should be released.
In exchange for these hostage releases, a “certain number of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons” will also be released, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said, without saying how many. Two Israeli and Palestinian sources speak of 150 prisoners.
Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 22, 2023
Little is still known about the nationalities of those released, while eight French people are still in the hands of Hamas. A senior White House official announced Tuesday that among the 50 released hostages were three American nationals. On Wednesday morning, the Minister of Foreign Affairs declared on France Inter “hope that there are French among them”, without saying more out of “prudence”. Because for the process to succeed, “each of the parties must keep their part of the contract, and nothing hinders what is planned”.
If this first agreement only covers 50 people, the United States expects more to be released. “There will now be a pause of several days, they (Hamas) will have the capacity to identify additional women and children. So we expect there to be more than 50,” a senior US official told reporters.
In a series of messages on X this Wednesday morningthe Israeli government also writes that “the release of ten additional hostages will lead to an additional day of break.”
A four-day truce, maybe more
This exchange of prisoners and hostages must in fact take place during a humanitarian truce. “The start of this break will be announced in the next 24 hours and will last four days, with the possibility of extension,” the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared on X.
This humanitarian truce has been demanded for a long time by several international organizations and NGOs, who are calling for a ceasefire. Until then, only a four-hour daily break had been granted by the Hebrew government.
The State of Qatar announces that a humanitarian pause has been agreed in Gaza
Doha – 22 November 2023
The State of Qatar announces the success of its joint mediation efforts undertaken with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America between Israel and the…
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) November 22, 2023
In the Gaza Strip, bombings have left more than 14,000 dead according to Hamas and the rest of the population lacks everything. This truce should allow the entry of “a greater number of humanitarian convoys and emergency aid, including fuel”, Gaza being faced with a total siege imposed by Israel, assured the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs .
According to our information, obtained from one of the members of the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, the Red Cross will be able to visit, with medicine, the hostages not yet released present in the Gaza Strip. Minister Catherine Colonna also speculated that this first four-day truce could lead to a more lasting ceasefire.
Can this agreement last?
It is difficult to know if this agreement will be kept from start to finish. But both sides have already promised a return to war. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday evening that he wanted operations to resume at “full force” after the truce, in order to “defeat” Hamas and “create the necessary conditions to bring home other hostages “.
“The Israeli government, Israeli army and security forces will continue the war to return all abductees, eliminate Hamas and ensure that there is no further threat to the State of Israel from Gaza,” the government also confirmed after its vote. “We confirm that our hands will remain on the trigger and that our triumphant battalions will remain on the lookout,” Hamas also warned for its part.
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