Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for a ceasefire after 45 days of warfare that began with a surprise attack by Hamas; see BREAKING: Hamas Fires 5,000 Rockets Into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel Declares ‘State of War’ – RedState.
After a marathon six-hour cabinet meeting, Israel agreed to a temporary ceasefire with Hamas that will result in Hamas releasing 30 kidnapped children, eight mothers, and 12 single women, for a total of 50 hostages.
In addition to the official word, other media are reporting there is more to the deal.
Israel will release 150 Palestinian women and children now in custody. There is no word if they will return to North Gaza or be released into the refugee stream into South Gaza.
Allegedly, 300 trucks of humanitarian supplies will be allowed into Gaza. I’m assuming this refers to North Gaza, where Hamas terrorists are surrounded as humanitarian supplies have been flowing into South Gaza from Egypt.
The ceasefire will last four days, meaning it will expire early Sunday morning Israel time. Allegedly, if the ceasefire is extended by one day, Hamas will release ten more hostages.
Israel will reduce drone coverage to 18 hours per day. Again, I don’t know how this would be monitored or what difference it would make.
As to be expected, there is conflicting information floating about.
The statement released by Netanyahu’s office calls the period ” a lull in the fighting,” not a ceasefire.
The Prime Minister’s Office issues a formal statement confirming the cabinet’s decision early this morning to approve the first hostage deal of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“The Israeli government is committed to bringing all the abductees home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, under which at least 50 abductees – women and children – will be released over a span of four days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting,” the statement says.
“The release of every ten additional abductees will result in an additional day of respite,” it adds.
“The Israeli government, the IDF and the security forces will continue the war to return all the abductees, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that Gaza does not renew any threat to the State of Israel.”
Check in for more information as it becomes available.
