The first batch of 12-13 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, possibly including dual nationals, could be released as early as Thursday in return for a temporary truce in the fighting.
After weeks of tense negotiations, mediated by Qatar, the US and Egypt, the Israeli cabinet on Tuesday night was set to approve a deal for the release of 50 Israeli children, mothers and elderly women, 12-13 at a time, in five daily batches. Under the proposed deal, Hamas will issue a list of names of the hostages to be released each day, 24 hours in advance of time.
One of the 238 hostages being held in Gaza is Irish citizen Emily Hand, seized from kibbutz Be’eri, who turned nine on Friday. Her Irish father, Tom, issued the following message in advance of her birthday: “We’ve got the hope she’s alive. That somehow we’ll get her back, that we’ll be able to hug her, kiss her and fix her.”
The Hamas-run Gaza government says the number of people who have been killed in the territory since the war began has reached 14,128, including almost 6,000 children. The conflict began after some 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, were killed on October 7th, when 3,000 heavily armed Palestinian gunmen crossed from Gaza into southern Israel and entered 22 communities
Addressing ministers in advance of Tuesday night’s vote, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu described the decision as difficult but correct. “We are at war, and the war will continue until all our goals are achieved,” he said, vowing that Israel will continue its military campaign to destroy Hamas after the ceasefire.
He also clarified that Red Cross representatives will visit the hostages who will not be released.
In return for the hostage release, according to the terms of the proposed agreement, Israel will observe a four-day ceasefire and allow up to 300 lorries to enter Gaza on each of these days, bringing fuel and humanitarian aid. The ceasefire will only commence after the first hostages cross the border into Israel. Israel will also release 140-150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and minors, but none who participated directly in the murder of Israelis.
Under the terms of the proposed agreement Israel also commits to refraining from aerial activity over the Gaza Strip for six hours each day during the initial ceasefire days, though other unspecified measures of intelligence gathering will continue to ensure protection of soldiers on the ground.
Israel believes 80 children-and-mother hostages are being in Gaza, some by Islamic Jihad and other groups, and the proposed deal includes a provision to extend the ceasefire by an extra day for every additional 10 captives Hamas locates and releases. Israel, meanwhile, is preparing for a potential extension of the truce, contingent on further releases.
Foreign citizens may also be released in accordance with agreements with other countries, though they are not included in this proposed deal.
The two far-right parties in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition opposed the deal.
The Religious Zionism party, headed by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, described the deal as “bad for Israel’s security, bad for the hostages, and bad for the soldiers of the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]”.
“Hamas’s agreement to the deal indicates that the IDF is carrying out an effective strike,” said a statement by the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Strength) party. “It is necessary to continue striking the enemy and bring it to a deal under conditions dictated by Israel and not under the very problematic conditions that endanger IDF forces.”
Immediately after Tuesday night’s cabinet decision, Israel was due to publish a list of the Palestinian detainees to be released to enable appeals to the Supreme Court, although the court is almost certain to reject any such petitions.
Any freed hostages will be flown by helicopter from the Gaza border to hospitals in Israel where special medical teams and psychologists will be waiting.
“We are working towards an agreement taking place and we are now at the closest point we ever have been in reaching and an agreement,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We are very optimistic, we are very hopeful, but we are also very keen for this mediation to succeed in reaching a humanitarian truce.”
It is expected that the Israeli army will use the truce to plan for the next stage of the war, expected to be an attack on Khan Yunis, the major city in the south of the Gaza Strip.
The fighting continued on Tuesday in the northern Gaza Strip with the IDF advancing in Jebalya and the neighbourhood of Zeitoun.
