Israel and Hamas reach initial ceasefire agreement in Gaza
The Netanyahu government plans to discuss and vote on the terms of the deal on Thursday. In the first of three phases of the plan, Hamas must hand over 33 hostages and Israel must begin a phased withdrawal of its troops in the northern Strip and start releasing Palestinian prisoners
After 15 months of war in Gaza, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement in principle, according to official sources from two of the mediating countries, the United States and Egypt, and from Israel. In the absence of an official announcement, the pact comes after 15 months of war and more than 46,700 people killed in the Strip and following weeks of arduous negotiations in Doha to decide the future of Gaza after the end of the conflict. The new ceasefire plan includes three phases. In the first, which would begin to be implemented swiftly after the signing of the agreement and would last six weeks, Hamas would hand over 33 hostages (an estimated one third of them lifeless and mostly women, minors, and the sick, wounded and those aged over 50). At the same time, Israel would begin the progressive withdrawal of its troops from northern Gaza and would start to release Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
