Will hostages be released?

Israel: Green light for ceasefire agreement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

(Bild: APA/Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Israel's security cabinet has given the green light for a ceasefire agreement with the terrorist militia Hamas, as announced by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now all that remains is for the government to give its approval. 

Netanyahu had previously announced that the release of Israeli hostages would begin on Sunday.

The agreement provides for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to begin on Sunday. In a first phase, a total of 33 hostages who were abducted by the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas and groups allied with it during their attack on 7 October 2023 are to be released.

Almost one hundred Israeli hostages are said to be held by Hamas.

(Bild: AP)

Government to meet on Friday after all
According to Israeli media, the meeting of the entire government is to take place on Friday afternoon. The ceasefire is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 12:15 local time (11:15 CET). Approval of the agreement by the security cabinet and the entire government was considered certain, despite opposition from far-right politicians.

Far-right politicians threaten to resign
Several far-right politicians are threatening to leave the government if the agreement is approved. Netanyahu could therefore lose his governing majority in parliament if several parties make good on their threats. The ruling Likud party has already criticized the threat made by Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and announced that anyone who topples a right-wing government will be remembered as a disgrace. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, however, has already announced that he would be prepared to offer Netanyahu a "safety net" in parliament in return for a hostage deal.

The parties to the conflict only want to agree on the details of a second and third phase of the agreement during the first phase.

The Israeli prime minister's account on X reported that all "diplomatic, security and humanitarian aspects" had been taken into account:

Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" reported that Hamas would only announce the names of the hostages earmarked for release on the day of their release. Israel will only publish them as soon as the hostages have been handed over to the Israeli army and their families have been informed. Meanwhile, Israeli media have already published a list of the names of the 33 abductees who are to be released in the first phase, including women, two children and elderly people. Most of them are believed to be alive. As APA learned from informed sources on Thursday, the first 33 hostages are said to include the Austrian-Israeli dual national Tal Shoham.

Hamas: All obstacles removed
The government was actually supposed to vote on Thursday. However, it postponed the meeting due to differences between various ministers. It also accused Hamas of deviating from the agreement on some points. On Friday, the group declared that all obstacles to the agreement had been removed.

On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire, which is to come into force on Sunday. In principle, the agreement provides for an initial six-week ceasefire and the release of some hostages held by Hamas. In return, Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli custody. As a first step, 33 Hamas hostages are to be released: all women, children and men over 50. In return, Israel wants to release all women and children under the age of 19 from the prisons. Later, the Israeli military is to gradually withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Despite the agreement, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip continued on Friday. According to Palestinian reports, at least 101 people have died since the agreement was reached.

USA expects agreed start of ceasefire
The USA assumes that the ceasefire will begin as planned. The agreement is on track and the ceasefire is expected to come into force "this weekend", said presidential spokesman John Kirby. "We see nothing to indicate that the agreement is failing at this point," he said on CNN on Thursday.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is likely that aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip will increase significantly with the start of the ceasefire. Around 600 trucks a day could cross the borders. "The possibility exists, especially if other border crossings are opened," said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Palestinian territories, at a press conference in Geneva. In addition, more patients could be evacuated from the area. According to UN figures, an average of 51 trucks with relief supplies were driving into the Gaza Strip every day at the beginning of January.

The war was triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In the process, 1,200 people died and 250 others were abducted. Of those abducted, 98 are still believed to be in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian figures, more than 46,000 people were killed in the Israeli offensive in the densely populated area that followed the attack.