Israeli and Arab media reveal details of the agreement between Hamas and Israel

On the evening of January 15, after months of negotiations, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. It involves several stages.

Al Jazeera and The Times of Israel write about them.

Qatari TV channel Al Jazeera, citing sources, outlined how the first stage of the deal was planned to be carried out.

• The IDF will withdraw to within 700 meters in the Gaza Strip.
• Israel will release about 2 000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences (they want to transfer them to third countries).
• Hamas will release 33 Israeli prisoners.
• Israel will allow the wounded in Gaza to move around the territory to receive medical care.
• Israel will open the Rafah crossing with Egypt seven days after the start of the first phase.
• The Israeli military will begin withdrawing from Gazaʼs border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphia Corridor, with a view to withdrawing completely in the following stages.

The Israeli media outlet The Times of Israel, citing officials, notes that there are still "minor" issues about the agreement, but they will be resolved after it enters into force.

One such issue is the completion of Israelʼs vetting of about a hundred Palestinian prisoners eligible for release, mostly residents of the Gaza Strip, who have been held by Israel since the start of the war.

The parties have also not yet agreed on the exact number of lifers to be released, according to an Israeli official. Hamas has agreed that such prisoners will be sent to third countries, but Israel insists that some of its other prisoners be sent to such countries as well.

War between Israel and Hamas

The new escalation of the war has been ongoing since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a massive missile attack on southern and central Israel, invaded the countryʼs territory and killed 1 195 civilians, and took more than 250 hostages and took them to Gaza. Some of them were released, some have already died. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas claims that more than 46 000 Gazans have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced during the Israeli operation. These figures cannot be confirmed, especially regarding the number of dead. Hamas does not separate civilians from militants in its statistics.

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