Israel, the Qatari mediator, and Palestinian sources said on Tuesday that they are close to reaching an agreement to release hostages held by Hamas since October 7, 2023, the date of its unprecedented attack on Israel, in exchange for a temporary truce in Gaza. The following are the most prominent leaks of the content of this agreement:
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The Israeli Prime Minister said Tuesday that “we are making progress” on returning the hostages. “I hope there will be good news soon.”
For its part, Qatar, which is mediating alongside Egypt and the United States in efforts to conclude an agreement, announced that the negotiations have reached the “closest point” since they began.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said in Doha:Mediation has reached a critical and final stage It has gone beyond the fundamental and pivotal issues, and the remaining issues are limited, and therefore this means (that it is) the closest we have reached to reaching an agreement since the beginning of this crisis.”
As for the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, he said in a brief message at dawn on Tuesday, “The movement has delivered its response to the brothers in Qatar and the mediators, and we are close to reaching a truce agreement.”
Sources in Hamas and Islamic Jihad reported that the details of the agreement will be officially announced by Qatar and the other mediators.
- Between 50 and 100 hostages in exchange 300 Palestinian prisoner
Two sources familiar with the negotiations told Agence France-Presse that the deal includes “the release of between 50 and 100 hostages held in the Gaza Strip” by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including civilians and those with foreign nationalities other than soldiers, in exchange for Israel’s release of “300 captive Palestinian children and women” from Israeli prisons.
The two sources said that the release of these “will take place in stages, at a rate of ten Israeli prisoners per day compared to thirty Palestinian prisoners, provided that those who remain will be released on the last day” of the truce.
- Activating an initial five-day truce
The two sources also confirmed that the agreement includes “a comprehensive ceasefire and hostilities, and a complete cessation of Israeli aircraft overflights in the skies of the Gaza Strip, with the exception of the northern regions, where flights will be stopped for only six hours a day.”
The agreement also includes, according to the sources, “the entry of between 100 and 300 trucks of food and medical aid, including fuel, to all areas of the Strip, including the north.”
- A stumbling block…the release of members of one family…
The same sources indicated that Israel insisted on family cohesion, meaning that if a woman was released, her husband should also be released, even if he was a soldier, which Hamas rejected. However, Egypt and Qatar are currently working in coordination with the American administration to find a solution and end this point.
“We wanted to hear about an agreement… but we did not hear it.”
He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a delegation Relatives of the hostages He pledged to them not to “stop fighting until we return the hostages” and “destroy” Hamas. As for the families, they expressed their frustration at the meeting.
Udi Goren, whose cousin was among the hostages, said, “We wanted to hear about an agreement and that the return of the kidnapped people was a priority, but we did not hear that.”
US optimism about an “imminent” agreement
US President Joe Biden also indicated on Monday an “imminent” agreement. A journalist asked him on the sidelines of a ceremony held at the White House, “Is there an imminent agreement to release the hostages?” He replied, “I think so.” When the journalist repeated the question, Biden replied, “Yes.”
This was later confirmed by US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, saying, “We are as close as we are (to reaching an agreement). We are confident.”
Hopes of the Red Cross
Hopes for reaching an agreement increased after the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spolijaric, met with Ismail Haniyeh and Qatari officials. The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it insists on allowing its teams to visit the hostages “in order to ensure their safety and give them medicine, and so that the hostages can communicate with their families.”
France 24/AFP
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2023-11-21 16:01:12
