In a shocking turn of events, it appears that Israel and Hamas have come to a tentative agreement for a five-day cease-fire, the first significant pause in hostilities since the start of the conflict in October. As a result of this pause, dozens of women and children being held captive in Gaza would be released.
Additionally, humanitarian aid such as gasoline is planned to be delivered from Egypt to Gaza. This could be the first step toward achieving lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.
Under the terms of the deal, both sides would agree to suspend military operations for five days while smaller groups of prisoners are set free over a period of 24 hours. It is unclear exactly how many prisoners will be released as part of this agreement.
Additionally, aerial surveillance will monitor activities on the ground to ensure that all parties abide by this truce. In order to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza during this ceasefire, fuel deliveries from Egypt will increase significantly.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated his commitment to continuing military operations despite allowing fuel delivery into Gaza, thousands of people across the country have shown support for freeing hostages through peaceful means instead through marches from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem over a five day period. And President Biden’s administration has also voiced its approval for a temporary ceasefire while pushing strongly for releasing American citizens or permanent residents currently being held captive in Gaza – nine Americans and one permanent resident according to reports.
The United States government has been actively involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas ever since President Biden’s trip to Tel Aviv shortly after war broke out between them nearly two months ago. Secretary Blinken along with other senior officials have met with both sides multiple times urging them towards reaching an agreement so far 11,000 Palestinians dead due to military conflict since then according to reports.
The US government’s main priority in these talks has been getting hostages released safely without any further loss of life; something which Joe Biden himself emphasized during his speech at a campaign rally two weeks ago stating “I think we need a pause…A pause means time to get the prisoners out.”
