EXPLANER
Both sides agreed to a four-day pause in fighting, but Israel made clear it would not end the war.
After more than six weeks of fighting that destroyed large areas of Gaza and killed thousands, Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas agreed to a four-day truce.
Since October 7, when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, the Israeli army has relentlessly bombarded Gaza with air and ground attacks, killing more than 14,000 Palestinians, most of them Palestinians. women and children.
An estimated 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced and forced by the Israeli army to flee to the southern areas of the Gaza Strip.
Here’s what you need to know about the truce agreement:
What did Israel and Hamas agree to?
- Both sides agreed to a four-day pause in fighting.
- In exchange, Hamas agreed to release 50 civilian women and children out of the 237 captives kidnapped since October 7.
- As part of the deal, Israel agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and children from its prisons.
- Qatar said the deal would increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
- Israel said it was prepared to extend the pause beyond the four-day period, adding one day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas.
- It is unclear whether Israel will release additional Palestinian prisoners if the truce is extended.
How did the truce go?
The deal was brokered by Qatar, which led negotiations between Israel and Hamas, while coordinating with other regional and global powers, including the United States and Egypt.
US President Joe Biden thanked the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for their role in this progress.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he relied on Biden to secure a better deal for Israel and thanked the US president for his efforts.
Netanyahu also made clear that the country was not ending its war on Gaza and that the cessation of fighting was only temporary.
The State of Qatar announces that a humanitarian pause has been agreed in Gaza#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/5qqjSjvt4X
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) November 22, 2023
Is the truce already in effect?
No. On Wednesday morning, fighting continued between the two camps. Qatar said the start time of the break would be announced within 24 hours.
How did Israel come to approve the agreement?
After weeks of rocky negotiations and multiple instances where a deal appeared on the horizon before collapsing, Netanyahu called a meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday evening.
Israel’s prime minister presented the proposed deal to his ministers, and only three members of his cabinet opposed it: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other members of his far-right political party.
What happens if one party breaks the truce?
Neither side should refrain from resuming hostilities if the other breaks – or appears to have broken – any of the terms of the agreement.
Israel is not withdrawing its soldiers, tanks, armored vehicles and other military infrastructure from Gaza, which it entered at the end of October during a ground offensive.
What do we know about prisoners held by Hamas?
- Israel says at least 237 people were captured during Hamas attacks on October 7.
- Among them are 33 children, according to the Israeli government.
- The captives come from more than 40 countries; including at least 20 Thai farm workers.
- Some of the captives are Israeli soldiers. An Israeli soldier has already been rescued.
- Hamas has already released four people – two Israeli citizens and two American citizens.
- Hamas said 50 captives were killed in Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip.
- Israel also said the bodies of two female captives were found near the al-Shifa hospital complex.
- Biden said in a statement that he expects Americans to be included among the 50 captives released as part of the deal.
What do we know about Palestinians in Israeli prisons?
- Before October 7, there were approximately 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
- Since then, Israeli forces have arrested at least 3,000 additional Palestinians in daily raids in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
- At least 145 of them are children, according to rights and monitoring groups.
- At least 95 are women.
- At least 37 are journalists.
What was the timeline of the transaction?
- On November 15, reports began to emerge that Qatari mediators were close to reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas for the release of 50 captives in Gaza in exchange for a three-day break.
- On Sunday, Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said “minor” and “more logistical” challenges remain in the deal’s negotiations, which are “going through ups and downs.”
- Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the country’s war cabinet met on Sunday and discussed its willingness to move forward with negotiations and told Qatar it was ready to reach a deal.
- On Monday, US President Joe Biden said he believed a deal to free the captives was reached. The White House clarified that the terms had not been finalized.
- On the same day, Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha and spoke separately with Qatari authorities.
- On Tuesday, Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq told Tel Aviv Tribune that a deal had been in talks for weeks but Netanyahu was nitpicking. He added that all Palestinian resistance brigades agreed on the deal via telephone call and that Hamas delivered its response to Qatari negotiators.
- On Wednesday morning, the Israeli cabinet backed the deal after negotiations over the Qatar-brokered deal.
- Later Wednesday morning, Israel and Hamas independently confirmed the pause in fighting.
And after?
The Israeli Parliament has 24 hours to appeal the truce agreement to the High Court. The first exchange of captives and prisoners is expected to take place after this period, on Thursday or Friday.
James Dorsey, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, told Tel Aviv Tribune that the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas is only a first step in the difficult negotiations ahead, while lasting peace in Gaza is still far away.
“What this deal tells you is how difficult things are going to be going forward. Once the issue of releasing Israeli military personnel held captive by Hamas is addressed, these negotiations will become much more difficult.
“My feeling is that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was caught in a bind. On the one hand, domestic pressure – who wants the hostages to be released and wants them to be released now – and, on the other hand, American pressure to allow a truce.”