In a significant development, Qatar has announced that a short truce between Israel and Hamas will commence on Friday morning. However, the ceasefire has been delayed by a day due to ongoing negotiations between the two sides over hostages and prisoners. The four-day pause in fighting in Gaza will now start at 7 a.m. local time, while Hamas is expected to release the first group of women and children hostages around 4 p.m., according to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari.
The agreement between Israel and Hamas, supported by Iran, was brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. Along with the ceasefire, Hamas is set to free 50 hostages, while Israel is supposed to release 150 jailed Palestinians. All 200 individuals being released are women and children. The delay in the start of the ceasefire highlights the complexity of the negotiations and the difficulty in achieving a breakthrough between the warring parties.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed the critical nature of these hours while meeting with the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium. The hope is for the safe return of the first group of hostages and the implementation of the agreed ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains confident in the eventual release of the approximately 240 people abducted by Hamas last month.
Meanwhile, clashes between Hamas militants and Israeli troops continue in northern Gaza. Additionally, on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, there have been further exchanges of fire, with the Hezbollah militant group launching its largest barrage of rockets since the war began.
The agreement between Israel and Hamas outlines the release of 50 women and children by the Iran-backed group, while Israel will release 150 Palestinian women and individuals under the age of 19 from its jails. Among the hostages leaving Gaza, three Americans are expected to be included, according to US officials.
Netanyahu maintains that the war will persist until Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the US and EU, is dismantled. Nevertheless, this accord marks the first major ceasefire since the conflict erupted over six weeks ago.
According to Israeli media, the ceasefire will only begin once the Red Cross receives the released hostages from Hamas, with the handover expected to occur on Friday. This agreement also envisions increased aid flowing into Hamas-controlled Gaza to address the humanitarian crisis reported by the United Nations and Palestinian officials. Furthermore, there is a provision for extending the ceasefire for an additional day for every 10 more hostages released during a second stage of the agreement.
While many nations have called for an extended ceasefire, Israel and the US oppose such a move, fearing it would allow Hamas to rearm. The outcome of this agreement carries significant weight for US President Joe Biden, who faces pressure from his own party to bring an end to Israel's offensive. The offensive was launched following an October 7 Hamas attack that resulted in 1,200 deaths, in addition to the abductions. Since then, more than 14,850 people, including 6,150 children, have been killed in the Palestinian enclave, as reported by the Hamas-run government media office.
President Biden and Netanyahu held a phone call, during which Biden emphasized the importance of maintaining calm along the Lebanese border and in the West Bank during the ceasefire. However, Netanyahu made no concrete commitments during the call, according to a report on Channel 13.
Diplomatic efforts to contain the conflict continue, with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron meeting Palestinian and Israeli officials. Cameron also visited an Israeli community near Gaza where residents were massacred by Hamas fighters in October.
Amidst these developments, the Iran-funded Hezbollah group, also designated as a terrorist organization by the US, claimed to have launched 48 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli army base. Israel reported intercepting some of the rockets and retaliating. Lebanese state media also reported an Israeli airstrike on a house in the village of Beit Yahoun, resulting in four casualties and one person wounded. Hezbollah claimed that five of its members, including the son of the head of its parliamentary bloc, were killed, though it is uncertain if this incident is related to the earlier report.
It remains unclear if groups like Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who recently seized an Israeli-owned ship and have launched missiles at Israel in the past month, will respect the ceasefire agreement.