After 46 days of devastating war, Israel and Hamas are one step away from a four-day truce and the release of 50 women and children among the almost 240 people kidnapped by the fundamentalist group.
The agreement – achieved thanks to the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States – would come into force 24 hours after the planned approval by the Israeli Government, which met tonight in Tel Aviv to vote on the proposal that has the support of the war cabinet and the support of security agencies.
At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that this was a “difficult but correct decision” by pointing out that the freedom of hostages “is a priority and sacred mission.”
But this is not the end of the war but rather a pause. “The war will continue until we achieve our objectives: eliminate Hamas, return all our abductees and ensure that the day after Hamas, no one in Gaza can threaten Israel.” In the morning, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah joined to Qatari optimism by also recognizing that the truce was closer. “These are decisive moments. We have already given our response to Qatar and Egypt regarding the latest ceasefire proposal and we are waiting for Israel’s response. If it does not want it, it will put up hundreds of obstacles,” added Islamist leader Jalil Al Haya.
In exchange for the release of some of those kidnapped in the Hamas attack on October 7, which triggered an unprecedented Israeli military response, Israel will suspend its bombings and its ground incursion, and will release between 150 to 300 Palestinian prisoners. (including also women and minors) and will increase the amount of fuel and humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.
The Government is obliged to publish the names of prisoners to allow appeals to the Supreme Court within 24 hours. Hamas has committed to releasing 30 children (including a 10-month-old baby), eight mothers and 12 other women in daily batches. . During the negotiation, he stated that he did not have all the children under his control, opening the possibility of requesting more days of truce to locate them. Each additional day of pause in the war beyond the agreed four can mean the release of more hostages (up to an approximate total of 80). The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahia Sinwar, had demanded that there be no drones in Intelligence missions over the Palestinian enclave during the truce. Israel, and to a lesser extent the US, deploy these devices to, among other functions, try to locate hostages held by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and clans.
Israel has agreed to suspend its activity for six hours a day although its Intelligence services warn that they will not have “their eyes covered.” The ceasefire is a relief for the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip under incessant bombs. The main achievement of Hamas is the achievement of several days of truce to reorganize itself in the hope that it will last and thus avoid a new phase of the offensive that completes control of the north (also underground) of the strip, launches the incursion to the south and continue searching for the head of Sinwar and the leadership of the armed wing. Israel, for its part, partially settles a debt with dozens of its citizens that it did not know how to defend in the terrorist attack of 7-O although almost 200 will still remain in captivity . Among them parents who will be separated from their children who will be able to return to their homes. To date, Hamas had released four women while a female soldier was rescued in an Israeli operation. The armed group released a video of another young woman, showing her first alive and then with blood on her head. Her body and that of a woman were found near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Maayan Zin hopes to be reunited with her daughters Dafna (15) and Ela (8) kidnapped in Kibbutz Nahal Oz where, she fears, they saw their father murdered. “I hope that the UN and the International Red Cross will wake up and help us return our kidnapped people. Yesterday was World Children’s Day and from what I know they hardly took care of the rights of Israeli children,” she laments. . “I have received many messages asking me if I care about the children of Gaza. Of course I do. I want all the children to be safe. Hamas has kidnapped my daughters and many other children. They could have freed them and surrendered, but they chose to use the people of Gaza to hide my daughters and more than 230 other hostages, putting all the children of Gaza in danger,” he wrote on the networks. After suffering the worst attack in its history with more than 1,200 dead, Israel launched a massive air offensive and, since October 27, also a land offensive, today occupying large areas of the north of the Strip. Israel, which lost 68 soldiers, claims that thousands of militants died in a month and a half of attacks and fighting. The Gaza Strip, for its part, has never suffered such a forceful Israeli offensive. According to the Islamist group, more than 14,000 Palestinians, including 5,800 children, have died.
In addition, two thirds of the 2.2 million inhabitants left their homes in northern Gaza to move to the south. EL MUNDO was able to verify the destruction in parts of the strip. The data corroborates it. 45% of residential units were destroyed, according to the UN. When the war ends, many Palestinians will not be able to return to their houses that have now become ruins. The truce will partly stop the humanitarian crisis, especially because it will allow a greater entry of fuel. “If there is not enough fuel, we will see the collapse of sanitation services. So we have, in addition to mortars and bombs, a perfect storm for the spread of diseases,” warns a Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, who warns of a possible “health tragedy”. In parallel with the bombings, combats and complaints from the UN in the last week, the US (ally of Israel and with hostages in Gaza), Qatar (headquarters of the Hamas leadership abroad) and Egypt (usual mediator between the parties) accelerated their efforts to sew a temporary and fragile calm agreement. This Tuesday, the Israeli Army expanded its pressure with the air attack against 250 Hamas targets, including “dozens of terrorists, rocket launchers and tunnels”, completed the encirclement of Jabalia and advanced to take control of the Zeitoun neighborhood in northern Gaza.