An Israeli source told Haaretz There will be no ceasefire in the Gaza Strip until the timetable for implementing the agreement with Hamas is determined. The Israeli newspaper also quotes an Israeli political source who explains that the delay in implementing the ceasefire agreement is due to Hamas not yet submitting the list of Israeli citizens it intends to release and the agreement reached with Qatar have ratified. This should ensure that all parties comply with the agreed terms.
To plan
Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said the hostage rescue was not expected to begin until Friday at the earliest. “Negotiations for the release of our prisoners are progressing and ongoing,” Hanegbi stressed in a statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The adviser then added that the release phase of the ceasefire agreement was progressing as planned and that the first group of Israeli hostages would be released on Friday.
There is a ceasefire in Gaza, which involves the exchange of 50 Israeli hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has announced that it will begin at 10 a.m. (9 in Italy) on Thursday, although there has been no official confirmation from the Jerusalem government. Only Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced that “according to the agreed plan, the process of releasing the first hostages must begin tomorrow,” without adding anything else.
The “pause in fighting,” as Israel defines it, is the framework within which the release of the Israeli hostages (children and women) will take place in exchange for the Palestinian prisoners (in this case also women and minors). The exchange – Egyptian security sources learned in the evening – was supposed to take place via the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. This is viewed by the parties as the “first phase” of the agreement, which focuses on the release of approximately ten abductees per day. But the four days of ceasefire could become five if – as envisaged in the agreement reached with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the USA – it is possible to exchange another 50 hostages in the hands of Hamas and the other Palestinian factions for another 150. This increases the total number of abducted prisoners released to 100 compared to 300 in Israeli prisons. This would be the “second phase”.
The agreement provides for the possibility of extending the “pause in fighting” for a few more days if necessary, based on a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Israel’s Justice Ministry has already identified 300 Palestinians eligible for release, excluding those who committed the crime of murder. Should the exchange take place, Hamas will in turn have to identify the other 50 hostages to be released who are under its control or the control of other factions, starting with Palestinian Jihad. In the evening, the militiamen had not yet submitted the list of the first ten hostages who were to be released tomorrow. The 24-hour period between the conclusion of the agreement (on the night of Tuesday and Wednesday) and its implementation is due to the fact that any citizen had 24 hours to object to the list of 300 Palestinian prisoners specified by the Ministry of Justice – before the Highest court. But the same assembly – as it did in 2011 on the occasion of the exchange for the release of the soldier Shalit – strictly rejected the petition from a right-wing Israeli NGO.
The agreement also provides for the passage of at least 300 aid trucks per day from the Rafah border crossing to Gaza, including fuel, the ban on Palestinians displaced in the south from returning to the north of the Gaza Strip, and also the six-hour halt to Israel’s overflights of reconnaissance drones during the four to five days of the ceasefire. After this deadline, it was declared that the Israeli army would fully resume its offensive in the Gaza Strip. The announcement of the ceasefire agreement also appears to have had a positive impact on the border between Israel and Lebanon, effectively the second front of this conflict, which has reached its 47th day. Hezbollah sources have revealed that although they did not take part in the ceasefire negotiations, they will join in “the cessation of fighting.” Meanwhile, the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, arrived in Qatar to finalize the final details of the agreement and ensure that it is implemented. All are in close contact with CIA chief Robert Burns, who is considered a key figure in the negotiations along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will return to Israel next week.
The agreement was welcomed by the Arab world, especially Palestinian President Abu Mazen, who at the same time called for “more comprehensive solutions” to the conflict. This is what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said The United Nations “will mobilize all its capabilities to support the implementation of the agreement.” and to maximize its positive impact on the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza.” While he waited for the ceasefire, the war continued on the field today. Israel said it had destroyed around 400 tunnels in Gaza since hostilities began, which were “under civilian structures, including residential buildings, schools, hospitals and other locations.” The death toll in Gaza – according to the Hamas Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militiamen and civilians – has instead reached 14,532, with 35,000 injured and 7,000 missing.
Read the full article on ANSA.it