Now the ceasefire or hostage agreement between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas is likely to be in effect. “The prime minister was informed by the negotiating team that an agreement has been reached on the release of the hostages,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday.
The government will meet later on Friday to approve the deal, the report said. The hostages’ families have been informed, Netanyahu’s office continued. Preparations would be made to receive the released hostages upon their return.
Dispute over prisoners
After months of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, the mediating states Qatar and the US announced on Wednesday evening that both sides had agreed to a deal on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages. Shortly afterwards, however, Netanyahu explained that “several clauses of the framework” were still open and needed to be clarified. There was talk of a ‘Hamas withdrawal’. The radical Islamic organization denied this.
According to the Jerusalem Post, there has long been disagreement over who gets to decide which Palestinian prisoners are released. Israel attaches great importance to the release of virtually no prisoners involved in Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Apparently there was also tension in Netanyahu’s cabinet. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Religious Zionism party reportedly demanded a promise from Netanyahu to resume the fight against Hamas after the first phase of the hostage deal.
G7 states speak of “significant development”
Leaders of the G7 group described the agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages as an “important development” and called on Israel and the radical Islamist group Hamas to “fully implement it ”. “This is an important development,” the G7 said on Thursday. They called on “all parties to participate constructively” in the next phases of the talks “to ensure the full implementation” of the agreement and “a lasting cessation of hostilities.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
