Published 1 day ago

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages, officials say

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, including five female Israeli soldiers
The three-phase agreement, based on a framework laid out by President Joe Biden and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, would begin with the gradual release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults, and wounded civilians in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel. The deal does not include written guarantees that the ceasefire will continue until a deal is reached, but the mediators have given Hamas verbal guarantees that negotiations will continue as planned
The deal would allow Israel throughout the first phase to remain in control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the band of territory along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Hamas had initially demanded Israel withdraw from. In the second phase, Hamas would release the remaining living captives, mainly male soldiers, in exchange for more prisoners and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.