The office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Friday said the Palestinian militant group Hamas will release the first hostages under a Gaza ceasefire deal on Sunday, after 15 months of war that demolished the enclave.
Local authorities said if successful, the ceasefire would halt fighting that has razed much of heavily urbanised Gaza, killed no fewer than 46,000 people, and displaced most of the tiny enclave’s pre-war population of 2.3 million several times over.
The ceasefire could also ease hostilities in the Middle East, where the Gaza war spread to include Iran and its proxies; Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and armed groups in Iraq.
It was gathered that under the six-week first phase of the three-stage deal, Hamas will release at least 33 Israeli hostages, including all women (soldiers and civilians), children, and men over 50 years of age.
According to the local authorities, Israel will release all Palestinian women and under-19 children detained in Israeli jails by the end of the first phase.
It was further learned that the total number of Palestinians released will depend on hostages released, and could be between 990 and 1,650 Palestinians, including men, women and children.
In a statement on Friday, Hamas said obstacles that arose in relation to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement have been resolved.
Israeli warplanes kept up intense strikes in Gaza, and the Civil Emergency Service on Friday said that at least 101 people, including 58 women and children, had been killed since the deal was announced on Wednesday.
DAILY POST recalls that in the early hours of Friday, Netanyahu’s office said that Israel’s security cabinet will meet to give final approval to the ceasefire accord, after the meeting was pushed back from Thursday raising concerns of delays.
Israel, however, blamed Hamas for the last-minute hold-up, while Hamas on Thursday said it was committed to the deal, which is scheduled to take effect on Sunday.