SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Samy Magdy, Wafaa Shurafa and Josef Federman
Israel’s cabinet approved a deal early on Saturday for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages that will pause the 15-month war with Hamas for six weeks.
The deal brings Israel and Hamas a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever.
The ceasefire – just the second achieved during the war – is expected to begin Sunday.
Given the devastation in Gaza, as well as Hamas operatives siphoning essential items for themselves, it will not be easy to direct aid to the people most in need.Credit: AP
Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the ceasefire on Wednesday, but the deal was in limbo for more than a day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there were last-minute complications that he blamed on the Hamas militant group.
Israel’s full cabinet met on Friday evening on a Gaza ceasefire deal after Netanyahu confirmed an agreement had been reached that would pause the 15-month war with Hamas and release dozens of hostages.
Its security cabinet had recommended the deal’s approval earlier in the day, and the full cabinet was expected to approve the ceasefire, which could start as soon as Sunday. The deal has drawn fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, whose objections could destabilise his government.
The cabinet was meeting well past the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, a rare occurrence and a reflection of the moment’s importance. In line with Jewish law, the Israeli government usually halts all business for the Sabbath except in emergency cases of life or death.
Israel and Hamas have been under growing pressure from both US President Joe Biden’s administration and President-elect Donald Trump to reach a deal before Trump takes office on Monday.
Hamas triggered the war with Israel with its October 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1200 people and left 250 others captive. Nearly 100 remain.
Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.
The conflict has destabilised the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Fighting continued into Friday, and Gaza’s Health Ministry said 88 bodies had arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.
A three-phase deal
Under the deal, 33 of the hostages are set to be released over six weeks in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The 33 are women, children, men over 50 and sick or wounded people. Hamas has agreed to free three female hostages on day one of the deal, four more on day seven, and the remaining 26 over the following five weeks.
Netanyahu instructed a special task force to prepare to receive them, and said their families were informed a deal had been reached.
Israel’s justice ministry on Friday published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the deal’s first phase and said the release will not begin before 4pm local time on Sunday (1am Monday AEDT). All on the list are younger people or female.
Israeli forces will pull back from many areas in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.
Israel’s military said that as its forces gradually withdraw, residents will not be allowed to return to areas where troops are present or near the Israel-Gaza border, and any threat to Israeli forces “will be met with a forceful response.”
The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second – and much more difficult – phase that will be negotiated during the first.
Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.
Longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.
An Egyptian official said an Israeli delegation from the military and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency arrived in Cairo on Friday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing, a key link between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. An Israeli official confirmed a delegation was going to Cairo to discuss the crossing. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.
Objections to the deal in Israel
Israel’s hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has threatened to quit the government if Israel approved the ceasefire.
Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not bring down the government or derail the deal, but the move would destabilise the government at a delicate moment and could eventually lead to its collapse if Ben-Gvir were joined by other key Netanyahu allies.
AP
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