The Israeli government has announced the deal for the release of 50 hostages, all of whom are women and children, over four days, during which there will be pause in fighting.
Groups of 12-13 hostages will be released per day, the Times of Israel reports.
Here is the full statement on the deal from the Israeli Government:
The Government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages. Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.
The Government of Israel, the IDF and the security services will continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza.
The Times of Israel also reports that there may be 30 more hostages released and that the pause in fighting could be extended “by a day for each group of 10 more Israeli hostages”.
Earlier, Israeli media, including Channel 12 news, reported that if the deal was approved, the first release of hostages is expected on Thursday.
The delay is because if the deal is agreed to, there must be a 24-hour waiting period before it is implemented, to give Israeli citizens the chance to ask the supreme court to block the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to reports in Israeli media.
Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal for the release of 50 women and children hostages held in Gaza in return for a four-day partial ceasefire, the Israeli government announced early on Wednesday.
The announcement from the prime minister’s office said the lull in Israeli military operations would be extended for an additional day for every 10 more hostages released. It did not say when the ceasefire would start, though in his address to his cabinet, Benjamin Netanyahu said the first hostages should be free within 48 hours of the agreement.
Hamas confirmed an agreement had been reached and added that 150 Palestinian women and children would be freed from Israeli jails.
“The Israeli government is committed to the return of all abductees home,” the government statement said in a WhatsApp message. “Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 abductees – women and children – will be released for four days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting. The release of every 10 additional abductees will result in an additional day of respite.”
Three Americans held by Hamas in Gaza are expected to be among at least 50 hostages to be released by the Islamist Palestinian group under the deal arranged with Israel, the US and Qatar, a senior US official said according to Reuters.
The three include a 3-year-old girl whose parents were among the more than 1,200 people killed in Hamas’ initial 7 October attack on southern Israel, the official said.
The official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said it was likely that more than 50 hostages, largely women and children, will be released once a pause in fighting takes hold.
The hostage group will include two American women and an American girl named Abigail who will turn four on Friday, the official said.
Initial releases of hostages are expected within 24 hours of the deal’s announcement, with the first likely to be freed Thursday morning, the official said.
“I would say it’s at least 50 of the women and children over a period of four to five days,” the official said, without providing details of any other nationalities expected to be released.
Hamas will release 50 women and children under the age of 19 in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons, the militant group has said in a statement seen by Reuters.
The statement said the two sides had agreed to stop all fighting for four days and that Israel had agreed not to attack or arrest anyone in Gaza during that period.
Air traffic would stop completely in southern Gaza during the four days and for daily six-hour periods in the north, Hamas said.
Hundreds of trucks would be allowed in carrying humanitarian aid to all areas of Gaza, it continued.
The Israeli government has announced the deal for the release of 50 hostages, all of whom are women and children, over four days, during which there will be pause in fighting.
Groups of 12-13 hostages will be released per day, the Times of Israel reports.
Here is the full statement on the deal from the Israeli Government:
The Government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages. Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.
The Government of Israel, the IDF and the security services will continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza.
The Times of Israel also reports that there may be 30 more hostages released and that the pause in fighting could be extended “by a day for each group of 10 more Israeli hostages”.
Earlier, Israeli media, including Channel 12 news, reported that if the deal was approved, the first release of hostages is expected on Thursday.
The delay is because if the deal is agreed to, there must be a 24-hour waiting period before it is implemented, to give Israeli citizens the chance to ask the supreme court to block the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to reports in Israeli media.
This is the Guardian’s live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war with me, Helen Sullivan.
The Israeli prime minister’s office has announced that Israel’s cabinet has voted to approve a deal that will see the release of 50 hostages, women and children, over four days, during which there will be pause in fighting in Gaza.
Groups of 12-13 hostages will be released per day, the Times of Israel reports, and fighting may be paused for more days if more hostages are released. In return, 150 Palestinian women and children will be released from Israel’s jails, Hamas has said.
Here is what we know about the hostage deal approved by Israel’s cabinet:
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office announced early on Wednesday that Israel’s cabinet has voted to approve a deal that will see the release of 50 hostages, who are women and children, over four days, during which there will be pause in fighting in Gaza.
A government statement on the deal said, “The Government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages. Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.”
Three Americans held by Hamas in Gaza are expected to be among at least 50 hostages to be released by the Islamist Palestinian group under the deal arranged with Israel, the US and Qatar, a senior US official said according to Reuters. The three include a 3-year-old girl whose parents were among the more than 1,200 people killed in Hamas’ initial 7 October attack on southern Israel, the official said.
The deal cannot be enacted until Thursday to allow time for Israeli judges to review potential legal challenges to the release of prisoners, the New York Times and reports, citing Israeli officials.
Groups of 12-13 hostages will be released per day, the Times of Israel reports, and fighting may be paused for more days if more hostages are released.
Hamas said that during the four-day truce Israel had agreed not to attack or arrest anyone in Gazaand that air traffic would stop completely in southern Gaza and for daily six-hour periods in the north. It also said hundreds of trucks would be allowed in to all areas of Gaza carrying humanitarian aid.
A senior US official said that three Americans including a girl about to turn 4 would be included among those released by Hamas. The official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said it was likely that more than 50 hostages, largely women and children, would be released once a pause in fighting takes hold.
Israel believes Hamas could locate about 30 more Israeli mothers and children beyond the initial 50, the Times of Israel reports, and that the halt in fighting could be extended by a day for each group of 10 more Israeli hostages who are located and freed, the government official said. “Hamas is claiming it cannot immediately track down around 10 children taken from Israel during the shock October 7 attack,” the Times of Israel reports.
Axios reports that the deal also includes an agreement by Israel to allow “around 300 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza from Egypt” as well as additional fuel.
Only three cabinet ministers opposed the deal, Axios and Al Jazeera report. The ministers opposed each belong to the Religious Zionism Party.
Other key recent developments include:
At least 14,128 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the government in the occupied territories. The latest death toll update includes at least 5,600 children and 3,550 women, it said.
A US warplane killed multiple Iranian-backed militiamen in Iraq after they fired a short-range ballistic missile at American and allied personnel in the country, the Pentagon said Tuesday. It is the first time the United States has announced a strike on Iranian proxy forces in Iraq since targeting Tehran-linked sites in Syria on three occasions in recent weeks, in response to a spike in attacks on American personnel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it stands in solidarity with health workers at al-Awda hospital in north Gaza after three doctors and “a patient companion” were reportedly killed in an attack on the facility. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have said two of its doctors and a third health ministry doctor were killed after what it said was a strike on al-Awda hospital.The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said three doctors were killed in what it said was an Israeli strike on al-Awda, one of the last remaining functional hospitals in northern Gaza.
The WHO also confirmed that one of its staff was killed in Gaza on Tuesday alongside her six-month-old baby.Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29, was a critical part of the WHO’s trauma and emergency team and had been part of the organisation since 2019, it said. She was killed when her parents’ house in southern Gaza, where she had evacuated from Gaza City, was bombed, the WHO said in a statement. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “devastated” by the news of her death.
The UN has warned that a “tragic … entirely avoidable surge” in child deaths is expected in Gaza, where on average a child is killed every 10 minutes. The UN children’s agency (Unicef) said the number of children dying could skyrocket due to the serious additional threat of a mass disease outbreak in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Palestinian poet and author Mosab Abu Toha has been released after he was detained by Israeli forces along with scores of other Palestinian men trying to leave northern Gaza, according to his friends and Israeli officials.
At least 52 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began on 7 October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On Tuesday, a Hezbollah-affiliated news channel said two of its journalists were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the south of Lebanon, near the boundary with Israel.
The European Commission has said it will continue to provide financial aid to Palestinians after an investigation found no evidence that the money was going to Hamas. The EU is the world’s biggest provider of assistance to Palestinians, with almost €1.2bn earmarked for 2021-2024.
The Scottish Labour party have formally backed demands for a full ceasefire in Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Anas Sarwar supported a motion put forward by Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, on Tuesday calling for an immediate truce,widening the Labour party’s divisions on the conflict.