Intl Desk, Jan 16: Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say. The truce is set to take effect on Sunday, January 19.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.
Israeli forces, however, are continuing with their attacks across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 30 Palestinians in the enclave since the agreement was announced.
US President Joe Biden said it would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal’s final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for “promoting” it. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said it was the result of Palestinian “resilience”.
Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq says the deal reached in the Qatari capital, Doha, meets all of the Palestinian group’s conditions, including the full withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of displaced people to their homes and a permanent end to the war.
Many Palestinians and Israeli hostages’ families celebrated the news, but there was no let up in the war on the ground in Gaza.
The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported Israeli air strikes killed more than 20 people following the Qatari announcement. They included 12 people who were living in a residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, it said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Over 2.3 million population has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to a struggle to get aid to those in need.
Israel says 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are presumed dead. In addition, there are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom are dead.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 46,707 Palestinians and wounded 110,265 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.
Source: News Agencies