The Israeli government announced in the early hours today that it approved the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages, under strong pressure from US President Donald Trump, as part of a process aimed at ending the war in the Palestinian enclave after two years.
“The government has just approved the framework for the release of all hostages – the living and the deceased,” the office of the Prime Minister of Israel stated via X. This development allows the agreement to come into effect.
The agreement reached the previous night in Egypt was based on a 20-point plan announced on September 29 by Mr. Trump, after two years of devastating war, triggered by the unprecedented Hamas assault on the southern part of Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
Of the 251 people abducted and taken to Gaza that day, 47 remain held there, but at least 25 have been declared dead by the Israeli military. The large-scale Israeli military reprisal operations have left behind tens of thousands of dead and have caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.
The release of the hostages will “end the war,” said the head of Israeli diplomacy Gideon Sa’ar, while the head Hamas negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, stated that he “received assurances from the brotherly mediators and the US government confirming that the war is ending completely.”
AP-MPE
