Israel, Hamas agree to initial hostage and ceasefire agreement

Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have reached the first stage of a ceasefire agreement that will begin the process of releasing Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, allowing residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return home safely. I made sure to do so. Withdraw Israeli troops from Earth.

Much still depends on the implementation of the three-stage negotiations. But now more than at any time since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, 2023, there is a glimmer of hope for the long-suffering residents and bereaved families of the Gaza Strip, devastated by Israel’s vicious invasion. The Israeli government believes that 98 Israeli hostages, many of them dead, are being held by Hamas.

The results gave President-elect Donald Trump an early political victory and a late, bittersweet victory for President Joe Biden. President Joe Biden’s months of start-and-stop diplomacy leading up to the deal sparked internal frustration and political backlash.

Trump is clearly acknowledging the pressure tactics he used after winning the November election to secure the deal. He warned that if Hamas did not release Israeli hostages at his inauguration ceremony on January 20, “all hell will break out.” With permission from the Biden administration, Trump also dispatched Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, to oversee multilateral negotiations between the two countries. Israel and Hamas in Qatar, with Egyptian, Qatari, and U.S. officials acting as mediators. Witkoff also reportedly put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a surprise meeting on Saturday, according to a Haaretz report quoting a senior Israeli diplomat.

Matt Duss, vice president of the left-leaning Center for International Policy, said Tuesday the new agreement was “good news” but “long overdue.”

“I think pressure from Trump has made a difference here,” said Duss, who has criticized Biden for not putting more pressure on the Israeli government. “The key question is what enforcement mechanisms will there be at each stage.”

Khaled Elgindy, a former adviser to Palestinian Authority leaders and author of ‘Blind Spots: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump’, similarly pointed out that much depends on implementation and follow-up, saying he would ‘be careful’. He said he was optimistic.

“We may be able to close the deal that was blocked in phase one,” said Elgindy, who teaches at Georgetown University’s Center for Modern Arab Studies. “There will be a lot of respect on the Israeli side. “I don’t see Trump criticizing Israel for violating the terms of the agreement,” he said.

The first phase of the agreement would temporarily halt hostilities between Hamas and Israel and allow for the flow of large-scale humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Hamas plans to gradually release 33 Israeli hostages classified as ‘humanitarian’. women, including female soldiers; sick people; There were also elderly people, according to several news reports quoting Israeli officials.

Israel plans to release significantly more Palestinian prisoners per hostage, starting with the women and minors it currently holds.

Israel is prepared to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the first phase, but that number will depend on how many of the first 33 hostages are still alive, the New York Times reported. Israeli authorities, who are trying to recover the bodies of the dead hostages, also believe that about 36 of the hostages still in Gaza are dead.

In the first phase, the Israeli military will allow Gaza residents to return to the largely destroyed northern Gaza Strip and withdraw significant troops once the hostages are fully repatriated.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.