Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that accepting an agreement for the release of the hostages captured in the Hamas attacks on October 7 was “a difficult decision, but it is a correct decision.”
US President Joe Biden helped “improve the framework presented to include more hostages at a lower price,” Netanyahu told his cabinet when they met to vote on the deal: “The entire security system fully supports it.”
The families of the hostages demanded that Israel insist on the return of all detainees and the party that is part of Netanyahu’s government coalition expressed its opposition to the agreement, denouncing it as “bad” for Israel’s security, for the hostages and for the soldiers.
The agreement will still be voted on by the 38 members of the coalition government, and the Crisis cabinet met previously, which expressed its full support.
Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who also participated in the attacks, told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the provisional agreement would include a five-day truce, consisting of a complete ceasefire on the ground and the end of Israeli air operations. over Gaza, except in the north, where they would only stop six hours a day.
The Israeli Prime Minister also stated that the agreement for the release of the hostages includes Red Cross access to civilians kidnapped and held captive in Gaza.
Under the terms of the agreement, which sources say may still undergo changes, between 50 and 100 Israeli civilians and those with dual nationality will be released in exchange for around 300 Palestinian women and children currently detained in Israeli prisons, as well as entry of fuel and other assets in the Gaza Strip.
According to the details that are being advanced, the release of Palestinian prisoners excludes those convicted of murder.
“This will allow the IDF to prepare to continue fighting; the war continues and will continue until we achieve all our objectives: destroy Hamas and bring back all the hostages,” Netanyahu said.
The hostage release, which could begin on Thursday, will be carried out in stages, with 12 Israeli hostages released per day, in exchange for 30 Palestinians.
The Israeli Executive is expected to vote on a plan that would suspend Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip for several days in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Hamas predicted that a Qatar-brokered deal could be reached “in the next few hours.”
Netanyahu considered that, during the pause, the efforts of the intelligence service will be maintained, which will allow the army to prepare for the next stages of the conflict.
On October 7, fighters from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007 and classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel – carried out an attack on Israeli territory of dimensions unprecedented since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, causing 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians, around five thousand injured and more than 200 hostages.
In retaliation, Israel declared a war to “eradicate” Hamas, which began with food, water, electricity and fuel cuts in the Gaza Strip and daily shelling, followed by a ground offensive surrounding Gaza City.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which this Tuesday marked 46 days and continues to threaten to spread throughout the Middle East region, has so far left more than 14,000 dead in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians, and more than 33,000. injured, according to the latest report from local authorities, and 1.7 million displaced, according to the UN.
News updated at 10:33 p.m.
Source: TSF
