Hamas approved the agreement on a truce in Gaza on Wednesday, sources close to the accelerating talks in Qatar said, aimed at ending 15 months of a deadly war with Israel.
The Palestinian Islamist movement and its ally Islamic Jihad approved the agreement on a ceasefire as well as an exchange of prisoners for Israeli hostages, according to two sources close to the negotiators meeting in Doha.
Palestinian hostages and prisoners
According to two sources close to Hamas, 33 hostages should be released during a first phase, in exchange for a thousand Palestinians detained by Israel. The hostages would be released “in groups, starting with children and women.”
The Israeli government confirmed on Tuesday that it was seeking the release of “33 hostages” during the first stage and was prepared to release “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners.
Of 251 people kidnapped during the attack on October 7, 2023, 94 are still held hostage in Gaza, 34 of whom died according to the Israeli army.
A single one-week truce was observed at the end of November 2023 and negotiations since have been met with intransigence from both camps.
But the talks intensified in the run-up to Donald Trump’s return to the presidency of the United States on January 20, in a climate of increased international pressure on the different parties.
Donald Trump recently promised “hell” to the region if the hostages were not released before his return.
