Israel and Hamas agree on a truce to free hostages in swap, raising hopes of halting war in Gaza

By JOSEF FEDERMAN, TIA GOLDENBERG and SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day cease-fire in the war in Gaza — a breakthrough that will facilitate the release of dozens of hostages held by the terrorist group as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, and bring a large influx of aid to the besieged territory, officials said Wednesday.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The truce raised hopes of eventually winding down the war, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into Israel. Now in its seventh week, the war has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank, and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.

Still, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would resume the war after the truce and keep fighting “until we achieve all our goals,” including the destruction of Hamas’ fighting and governing abilities and the return of all hostages.

The cease-fire temporarily freezes both sides in the war in place at a tenuous moment. Israeli troops hold much of northern Gaza and say they have dismantled tunnels and much of Hamas’ infrastructure there. But Israeli officials acknowledge the group’s infrastructure remains intact elsewhere. In recent days before the truce, Israel underlined that it was determined to take its ground offensive into the south.

That could be potentially devastating for Gaza’s uprooted population, most of which is squeezed into the south with nowhere to go to avoid the assault.

Residents in Gaza City said the fighting intensified overnight into Wednesday, with gunfire, heavy artillery and airstrikes. “Apparently they want to advance before the truce,” said Nasser al-Sheikh, who is sheltering with relatives in the city.

Palestinian fighters continued firing rockets at Israel throughout the day, without causing casualties.

A DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGH

The announcement of the truce capped weeks of indirect, stop-and-go negotiations to free some of the roughly 240 hostages taken by Hamas and other fighters during their Oct. 7 raid.

The cease-fire is to take effect at 10 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) Thursday, according to Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV channel. Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, helped mediate the deal between Israel and Hamas.

Fifty hostages will be freed in stages, in exchange for the release of what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinian prisoners. Both sides will let go women and children first.

Israel said the truce would be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed by Hamas. Hamas said hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid — including fuel — would be allowed to enter Gaza.

U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the deal, saying Netanyahu committed to supporting an “extended pause.” Several nations, including Britain, France, China and Russia, also welcomed the agreement.

Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said he hoped the deal would eventually lead to a permanent cease-fire and “serious talks” on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of 300 prisoners eligible to be released, mainly teenagers detained over the past year for rock-throwing and other minor offenses.

The Israeli military says it has detained more than 1,850 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war began, mostly suspected Hamas members. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed there, mainly during battles triggered by army raids. Attacks by Jewish settlers have surged, deepening Palestinian despair.

WILL THE WAR RESUME?

The war erupted in early October, when several thousand Hamas fighters broke into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking hostages.

Weeks of devastating Israel airstrikes in Gaza, followed by a ground invasion, have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. It does not differentiate between civilians and fighters, though some two-thirds of the dead have been identified as women and minors.

The ministry said that as of Nov. 11 it had lost the ability to count the dead because of the collapse of large parts of the health system, but says the number has risen sharply since then. Some 2,700 people are missing and believed buried under rubble.

For Israel, ending the war now would fall short of its goal of crushing Hamas throughout Gaza.

Israeli troops and tanks are expected to remain in place around northern Gaza during the truce. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, though it has presented no evidence for its count.

Hamas, meanwhile, will have a chance to regroup. Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar will likely present the release of the prisoners — seen by most Palestinians as heroes resisting occupation — as a major achievement, and declare victory if the war ends.

At the same time, Israel faces pressure to extend the truce. The war’s devastation has already galvanized international criticism of Israel, and even the U.S., its closest ally, has expressed concern about the heavy toll on Gaza’s civilians.

STRIKES CONTINUE

Israeli strikes continued after the announcement of the truce deal.

An airstrike overnight hit a residential building in the southern town of Khan Younis, killing 17 people, including children, said Ahmad Balouny, a relative of the deceased. An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies of two children pulled from the rubble.

Strikes also leveled buildings in the Nusseirat refugee camp and the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which have been heavily bombarded in recent days. The city’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said 128 bodies were brought in overnight after strikes, more than double the number that arrived Tuesday night.

“We had barely closed our eyes and we woke up to wreckage, dust and the smell of munitions. … The kids were paralyzed by fear,” said Umm Rami al-Jabali, who survived a strike in Deir al-Balah. “There’s no safe place. Inside isn’t safe, outside isn’t safe.”

In northern Gaza, about 60 bodies and 200 people wounded by heavy fighting were brought into the Kamal Adwan Hospital overnight, hospital director Dr. Ahmed al-Kahlout told Al-Jazeera television Wednesday.

Over 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced in the war. Many, if not most, will be unable to return home because of the vast damage and the continued presence of Israeli troops in the north.

The truce deal promises an increase of aid to the south, bringing some relief to hundreds of thousands who have struggled to find food and water. Israel has barred imports to Gaza since the start of the war, except for a trickle of aid entering from Egypt.

But Palestinians said they needed a full cease-fire to try to recover from the humanitarian catastrophe.

At a U.N. school-turned-shelter in Deir al-Balah — packed with families living in classrooms or ramshackle shelters set up in the yard — Amal Mahmoud said her family from northern Gaza was dispersed across the territory.

“We don’t like this truce. We want to return to our homes, to our lands,” she said.

DEAL COULD DIVIDE ISRAELIS

The return of hostages could lift spirits in Israel, where their plight has gripped the country. Families of the hostages — who include babies and older adults — have staged mass demonstrations to pressure the government to bring them home.

But they could also find themselves divided as some hostages are freed and others not.

Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother, sister-in-law and two nephews — aged 4 and 10 months — are among the captives, said the deal puts the families in an “inhumane” situation.

“Who will be released, who won’t? Will the kids be freed? Will they be freed with their mothers or not?” she asked, speaking to The Associated Press before the deal was announced. “No matter which way it happens, there will still be families that will remain worried and sad and angry.”

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Najib Jobain in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip; Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip; Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed.