The Israeli Cabinet agreed late Tuesday to a four-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Hamas releasing 50 of the roughly 240 hostages it took during its Oct. 7 terrorist assault on Israel.
The Israeli Cabinet agreed late Tuesday to a four-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Hamas releasing 50 of the roughly 240 hostages it took during its Oct. 7 terrorist assault on Israel.
The agreement is the culmination of weeks of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations between Jerusalem and the Islamist militant group, with the U.S. and other Middle Eastern nations such as Qatar playing key roles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Tuesday that his nation’s war against Hamas in Gaza will continue and that the temporary halt does not indicate that Israel is backing away from its goal of destroying the Palestinian group, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis during its Oct. 7 rampage.
“We are at war, and we will continue the war,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We will continue until we achieve all our goals.”
The Israeli Cabinet approved the deal with Hamas over the objections of some right-wing figures in the Israeli government who opposed the idea of negotiating with the group at all. But Mr. Netanyahu faced growing pressure, both domestically and internationally, to secure the release of the hostages before the Israeli military forges ahead with its offensive in Gaza.
Families of the hostages had also grown more vocal and pressured Mr. Netanyahu to secure their release as soon as possible.
Under the terms of the deal, Israel will halt its military offensive in Gaza for four days. During that time, Hamas has agreed to free 50 of the hostages, with 12 or 13 being set free each day, beginning with women and children, Israeli media reported.
During the four-day ceasefire, Israel also will allow fuel, food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by the Israeli military campaign in the weeks since Oct. 7.
The Israeli government also said it could extend the ceasefire by an additional day for every 10 hostages Hamas releases beyond the original group of 50.
Earlier Tuesday, President Biden indicated that a deal was on the horizon.
“We’re now very close, very close. We could bring some of these hostages home very soon,” Mr. Biden said at the White House. “But I don’t want to get into the details because nothing is done until it’s done.
