2024-02-25 15:00:42
Published25. February 2024, 4:00 p.m
Middle East conflict: War Cabinet is said to have approved a ceasefire proposal
Israel’s war cabinet is said to have approved a proposed deal that would release dozens of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Relatives of hostages must hope that they will be taken into account.
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According to media reports, the Israeli war cabinet has approved a proposal for a ceasefire agreement.
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The break in fighting is expected to last six weeks.
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Hamas was not involved in the negotiations.
According to Israeli media reports, there has been progress in negotiations for a week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israel’s War Cabinet discussed a proposal for an agreement that would see the release of dozens of hostages in the Gaza Strip and Palestinians from Israeli custody at a meeting on Saturday evening.
Several media outlets reported, citing government sources, that the war cabinet had approved the agreement. Israel will send a delegation to Qatar to take part in further talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment.
Hamas not involved in negotiations
The proposal comes from the USA, Egypt and Qatar. The militant Islamist Hamas said it was not involved. However, the alleged content of the agreement largely meets Hamas’s demands for a first phase of a ceasefire.
This is what the ceasefire should look like
Egyptian government sources said on Saturday that the draft ceasefire agreement included the release of up to 40 women and elderly hostages. In return, up to 300 Palestinian prisoners were to be released, the majority of whom were women, minors and elderly people. As part of a planned six-week pause in fighting, hundreds of trucks would be allowed into the Gaza Strip for daily aid deliveries, a government official said. Both sides agreed to continue negotiating additional releases and a permanent ceasefire during the ceasefire.
Hamas has stated that the release of all hostages under its control is conditional on Israel ceasing its offensive in the Gaza Strip and withdrawing its soldiers from there. Netanyahu rejects these demands.
Israel began the offensive following Hamas’ terrorist attack on the south of the country on October 7th. Around 250 people were taken hostage in the attack. Around 130 are still in captivity. A quarter of them are probably dead. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 29,600 Palestinians have been killed in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Gaza war.
Netanyahu under increasing pressure over hostages
Netanyahu has come under intense pressure to reach a deal for the hostages’ release. Police used a water cannon once morest demonstrators protesting once morest the government in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. 18 people were arrested. There were also protests in Jerusalem.
Relatives of the hostages have watched the negotiations for a ceasefire with hope and inner unrest. “It feels like Schindler’s List,” said the mother of 21-year-old hostage Omer, Shelly Schem Tov, to Israeli military radio. “Will he be on the list or not?”
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(dpa/bho)
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