Netanyahu’s cabinet approved the peace pact in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war
Despite the ceasefire news, sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday. Pic/PTI
On Saturday, Israel’s cabinet approved the deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war with Hamas, bringing the sides a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever. In a post on X, Qatar’s foreign minister Majid al-Ansari said the ceasefire will start at 8.30am on Sunday. He advised people to exercise caution when the agreement goes into effect and wait for directions from officials.
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Despite the ceasefire news, sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday, with the army saying it intercepted projectiles launched from Yemen. The Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up their missile attacks in recent weeks. The group says the attacks are part of their campaign aimed at pressuring Israel and the West over the war in Gaza.
Displaced Palestinians will return to their homes in Gaza. Pic/PTI
Under the first phase of the ceasefire, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
Key questions remain about the ceasefire, however—the second achieved during the war—including the names of the 33 hostages who are to be released and who among them is still alive. Hamas has agreed to free three female hostages on Day 1 of the deal, four on Day 7 and the remaining 26 over the following five weeks.
Qatar’s foreign minister Majid al-Ansari
Palestinian detainees are to be released as well. Israel’s justice ministry published a list of more than 700 who are to be freed in the deal’s first phase. All people on the list are younger or female. With most of Gaza’s population driven into massive, squalid tent camps, Palestinians are desperate to get back to their homes, even though many were destroyed or heavily damaged by Israel’s campaign.
The largely devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aid. Trucks carrying aid lined up on Friday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. On Saturday, two Egyptian government ministers arrived in the northern Sinai Peninsula to oversee the preparations for the delivery of aid and to receive the evacuation of wounded patients, the health ministry said.
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