Hamas verbally approved an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and is awaiting further information to give the green light in writing, a Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity.
Talks for a truce and the release of Hamas hostages resumed Wednesday in Qatar, with negotiators working to iron out the final details. On Tuesday, Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators as well as Israel and Hamas presented an arrangement as imminent. But a senior Hamas official explained in the evening that his movement was waiting for Israel to show, with supporting maps, how the withdrawal of its troops from the enclave would take place. This Wednesday, Hamas appeared to have verbally approved a ceasefire agreement. He will give the green light in writing after Israeli commitments.
For months, the two belligerents have said they are close to a truce accompanied by an agreement on the release of hostages still in the hands of Hamas before announcing the failure of the discussions due to last minute obstacles attributed to the party. opponent.
An agreement finalized several months ago
The broad outlines of the currently negotiated agreement have been known since mid-2024. According to its latest version, it provides for an initial six-week ceasefire, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the center of the Gaza Strip, the return of displaced Palestinians from the north of the territory, as well as the release of 33 Israeli hostages . Negotiations for a second phase would begin sixteen days after the entry into force of this first truce.
This second phase would focus on the release of the remaining hostages, the establishment of a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops. There would then remain other outstanding questions to resolve on the post-war and reconstruction, such as the governance of the enclave, the quest for billions of dollars of investment or the granting of security guarantees to Israel.
Despite the talks, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet (internal security agency) announced in a statement on Wednesday that they had attacked around fifty targets in the Palestinian territory over the past 24 hours. According to Palestinian medical sources, at least 13 Palestinians were killed, including seven people at a school housing displaced people in Gaza City.
Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, mainly civilians, and captured around 250 hostages during a series of raids carried out in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has been carrying out a vast military campaign in the Gaza Strip since that date. which cost the lives of more than 46,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, and reduced a large part of the territory to ruins. Several dozen Israeli hostages were released in November 2023 following a one-week truce. According to Israel, there remain 98 hostages in the hands of Hamas, half of whom are alive.
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