OMA (ITALPRESS) – Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, say two officials involved in the talks. An Israeli official tells his country’s media that progress has been made, but details are being worked out. The plan will have to be submitted to the Israeli government for final approval.
Qatar has sent Israel and Hamas a draft agreement to end fighting in the Gaza Strip and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, in a first step aimed at ending the 15-month war. A week after the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, some officials say a breakthrough has been reached in the Doha-hosted talks and an agreement may be close. Here are some of the main points of the draft agreement, according to statements made to reporters by an Israeli official.
Return of hostages – In the first phase, 33 hostages will be released, including children, women, female soldiers, men over 50, wounded and sick. Israel believes most of the hostages are alive, but has received no official confirmation from Hamas. If the first phase goes as planned, negotiations for the second phase will begin on the 16th day after the agreement goes into effect. In the second phase, in addition to the return of the hostages’ bodies, hostages still alive, including soldiers and men of military age, will also be released.
Withdrawal of Israeli forces – The withdrawal of Israeli forces will take place in phases, however, keeping close to the border to defend Israeli towns and villages located there. Security measures will also be taken regarding the Philadelphia (Salah al-Din) corridor south of the Gaza Strip, with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first days of the agreement. 1) Allowing unarmed residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their areas by setting up a mechanism to ensure that weapons are not transferred there. Israeli forces will also withdraw from the Netzarim crossing in the central Gaza Strip. 2) Palestinian militants convicted of murder or carrying out deadly attacks will be released, but the number of those released will depend on the number of hostages still alive, which is still unknown. Those who are released will not be allowed to travel to the West Bank. As for Hamas fighters who participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, Israel will not release them.
Increase in aid – The amount of humanitarian aid sent to the Gaza Strip will increase as international bodies, including the United Nations, have warned that the population is facing a suffocating humanitarian crisis. Israel is allowing aid into the Strip, but there are disputes over how much is allowed and how much reaches those in need, with looting by criminal gangs on the rise. One of the most vague issues in the negotiations concerns who will govern the Gaza Strip after the war, and the current round of talks does not seem to have addressed this issue because of its complexity and potential to hinder a short-term agreement. Israel rejects Hamas’ role in Gaza’s government and has opposed the participation of the Palestinian National Authority, established three decades ago in the Oslo peace accords, which exercises limited sovereignty in the occupied West Bank. Since the beginning of its campaign in Gaza, Israel has stated that it will maintain security control over the Strip even after the fighting ends. The international community believes that Gaza should be ruled by Palestinians, but efforts to find alternatives to the main factions among members of civil society or clan leaders have proven largely unsuccessful. According to U.S. website “Axios,” which cites U.S. officials, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to announce today the next-day plan to govern Gaza and rebuild the Strip.
– IPA Agency Photos –
(ITALPRESS).
