Israel and Hamas have accepted an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, a source close to the discussions told AFP on Wednesday, after days of intense diplomatic efforts in Doha, ending several months of blocking.
“An agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages was reached following the meeting of the Qatari Prime Minister (Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani) with Hamas negotiators and, separately, with negotiators Israelis, in his office,” said this source, on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.
“We have an agreement on hostages” in Gaza, welcomed Donald Trump.
But this optimism was dampened by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who announced Wednesday evening that issues remained “to be resolved” in the agreement, but that he hoped to conclude “tonight”.
The Israeli press release states that “faced with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s firm position, Hamas gave in at the last minute to his request to modify the deployment of Israeli forces along the Philadelphia Corridor”, a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt.
-The question of whether or not it was controlled by the Israeli army was one of the sticking points in the negotiations. Before it can enter into force, the final agreement must be validated by a vote of the Israeli government.
Thousands of Palestinians exulted Wednesday evening across the Gaza Strip at the first news of the announcement of this truce agreement after more than 15 months of war, according to AFP journalists and witnesses.
In Deir el-Balah, in the center of the small territory, hundreds of people showed their joy in front of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, dancing or waving Palestinian flags, according to an AFP journalist. Several similar spontaneous gatherings took place in other localities, according to AFP journalists on site or witnesses contacted by telephone.
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