For the first time of the Gaza conflict, both Israeli and Hamas sources agree that a major deal for the mass release of hostages is “closer than it has ever been” and is in the “final stages” – according to a US official cited in Reuters Tuesday.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has agreed that they are “close to reaching a truce agreement” with Israel, and an official with PM Netanyahu’s office said “An announcement of a deal may be imminent.” CNBC is citing the Israeli prime minister’s office as saying a deal has been reached.
Sources in Reuters indicated the pending deal is to include a multi-day pause in fighting, with a prisoner exchange potentially seeing Hamas release some 50 Israeli civilian hostages. The Israelis, for their part, are expected to free female and minor-ages Palestinians in its custody.
Since Oct.7, Hamas has demanded the release of several thousand Palestinians who have long been in Israeli custody, some of them without having ever been charged.
Netanyahu on Tuesday issued his most optimistic statements yet regarding a deal: “We are making progress on the release of the hostages. I hope we will have good news soon,” he told a group of military reservists.
He’s reportedly holding a series of urgent Cabinet meetings to mull the details of the pending deal…
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office has announced they will be holding a series of special Cabinet meetings today following reports that a deal with Hamas was close.
“An announcement of a deal may be imminent,” a diplomat with knowledge of the talks tells @keirsimmons. pic.twitter.com/VwH8m09aXv
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 21, 2023
Details reported by Axios based on diplomatic sources privy to the Qatar-mediated talks have been revealed:
- In the first phase of the two-phase deal, Hamas is expected to release 50 Israeli women and children held in Gaza, while Israel is expected to release around 150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and minors. Some of the Israeli hostages are dual citizens.
- The release of hostages and prisoners in the first phase of the deal would take place over four days of ceasefire in Gaza, one of the sources told Axios.
- As part of the deal, Israel would allow around 300 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza from Egypt.
A potential second phase of the deal could see 50 more released, and the ceasefire would be extended for multiple more days, per Axios:
- Israel would also release Palestinian prisoners at the same 3:1 ratio to the number of hostages freed.
While Tuesday has witnessed very optimistic international headlines and reporting, there have been several false starts concerning prior deals that proved premature, as the instance of a Washington Post story correction highlighted Monday.
Washington Post issues correction after wrongly reporting a U.S.-brokered deal to pause Israel-Hamas conflict https://t.co/Yvuoh3X8vL
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 20, 2023
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