The fine print of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which the international community wants to extend
The four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – which can be extended if there is an agreement between the parties – faces its last day this Monday after coming into force last Friday. These are the details of the agreement:
Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza. Israel and Hamas agreed last week to sign a four-day ceasefire under which the militia would release 50 Israeli women, children and teenagers – all under 19 – kidnapped and trafficked to Gaza on October 7 in exchange for the Israeli government releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners released. So far, Hamas has released 54 hostages (40 of them Israelis, some with dual nationality) and Israel has released 117 Palestinian prisoners. The pact also allows hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip, whose situation is dire due to the Israeli military siege. In addition, Israel has received from Hamas a new list of eleven hostages to be released today.
When did it start and when does it end?. The ceasefire agreement came into force at 7:00 a.m. last Friday (6:00 a.m. in mainland Spain) and will expire this morning unless it is extended. Portal news agency asked senior Israeli officials when exactly the ceasefire will end on Tuesday, but they did not give an exact date, arguing that it is a “very uncertain situation.”
Will the agreement be extended? The pact states that this can be extended for up to four more days – beyond the original four – provided that 10 hostages held by Palestinian militias are released each day in exchange for 30 imprisoned Palestinians. In this case, the agreement would last until Saturday, December 2nd. The four additional days are based on an estimate by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that there are about 100 Israeli children and women in Gaza. Israel has said from the start that it is willing to release 300 Palestinians in exchange for the return of the hundred hostages.
What happens if the ceasefire ends? The Israeli government and army have already warned that they will resume the military offensive against Gaza as soon as the ceasefire ends. Yesterday, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to the Gaza Strip for the first time since the start of the war to address his soldiers, whom he assured that they will continue the attacks until Hamas is destroyed. When the agreement was announced last week, the militia also warned that it would “keep its finger on the trigger” throughout the ceasefire in case Israel violated the pact.
How are hostages exchanged for prisoners? With the usual procedure for prisoner exchanges: the Red Cross mediating the transfer of prisoners from one side to the other. The NGO members receive them from Hamas, transfer them to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing (which connects Gaza with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula) and hand them over to the Israeli army. In return, Palestinians released from Israeli prisons were transferred to Jerusalem and Ramallah, the West Bank city where the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority is located.
Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Association estimates that Israel holds 7,200 Palestinian prisoners, including 88 women and about 250 minors. Most of those on the list of detainees Israel will release are from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and have been arrested for incidents including attempted stabbings, throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, making explosives, damaging property and contacts with organizations considered hostile. Nobody is accused of murder. Many were detained in administrative detention, i.e. without trial.
Who mediated to achieve the pact? Qatar has played an essential role as it maintains good relations with Washington and the United States, but also with Hamas. In fact, the Islamist militia has a political office in Doha and its leader Ismail Haniyeh lives there. The United States has also played a nuclear role. Its President Joe Biden has held talks with the Emir of Qatar and the Prime Minister of Israel. Egypt was also involved, being the first Arab country to make peace with Israel.
The pressure to extend the ceasefire. Qatar, Egypt and the US – the mediators – the families of the almost 200 hostages still in the hands of the militias, the EU, NATO and the Palestinian Authority have asked for an extension of the ceasefire. Even Hamas appeared open to an extension in a statement released on Sunday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – in a conversation with US President Joe Biden.