It is an agreement which announces a truce in the fighting which has now lasted for a month and a half in the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, November 22, the Israeli government “approved the outline of the first stage of an agreement under which at least 50 abductees – women and children – will be released for four days during which there will be a lull in the fighting,” according to an official statement.
The agreement also stipulates “that there is a possibility of releasing 30 additional hostages held in Gaza if the truce were to extend for up to four additional days”, according to information from the Jerusalem Post. Members of the Red Cross will also be able to visit the rest of the hostages in captivity, in order to provide them with medical aid.
Who are the hostages affected by the agreement?
Since the October 7 attacks, Israel estimates that nearly 240 people have been kidnapped by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist movements and are being held in the Gaza Strip. Among them, “the first release is expected to include 30 children, eight mothers and 12 other women, including elderly people whose lives are in danger”, details the Jerusalem Post.
Indeed, “around forty children and 13 mothers are being held hostage, but not all will be part of the initial group whose release is planned”, with Hamas claiming not to know the location of all the hostages, some being between the hands of Islamic Jihad. American citizens are also among the hostages and could be affected by the agreement, “which could come into force on Thursday”, according to the same source.
The White House said three American nationals must be released, two women and a toddler, whose parents died in the October 7 attacks, says Reuters. US officials assured that they would “continue their efforts to free all the hostages”. US President Joe Biden declared himself “extraordinarily satisfied” with the negotiations.
“Hamas could unilaterally release the hostages who have Thai citizenship,” the statement said. Jerusalem Post.
The main Israeli association of families of hostages in the Gaza Strip said on Wednesday it was “very happy that a partial release is underway”, it said in a statement. “At the moment we do not know exactly who will be released and when,” she added.
What about the French hostages?
Other governments may seek to negotiate the release of their citizens detained in Gaza. Eight French people are notably missing and for the moment France is certain that only some of them were taken hostage. There is at least one young girl whose proof of life had been provided via video as well as a teenager.
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Wednesday November 22 on France Inter that she hoped “there are French people” among the list of hostages appearing in the agreement. “There will be one or two French people,” MP Meyer Habib, whose constituency for French people living abroad covers Israel, assured Wednesday morning on Radio J.
Asked why she does not specify whether French people will be released, the minister replied: “Out of prudence, each party must keep its part of the contract, nothing must hinder the process.”
Hostages difficult to identify
Beyond the ongoing negotiations, it is difficult to know at this time who is currently being held in the Gaza Strip or not. As evidence of life is rare, the data is fluid. The line between hostages and missing people is fine and it happens that victims, initially considered hostages, are ultimately identified as having died in the October 7 attack.
Furthermore, it is not certain that all the hostages are still alive. Hamas has repeatedly announced that some were killed in Israeli raids, although these claims cannot be independently verified. To date, the Israeli army has found the remains of two hostages.
Among the hostages identified by French AFP journalists are at least 35 minors, one of whom, the American Natalie Raanan, was released with her mother on October 20. According to official data, apart from Israel, nationals of 26 countries are among the hostages, including 26 Thais, 21 Argentinians, 18 Germans, ten Americans, and seven Russians. Many are dual nationals.
150 Palestinian prisoners exchanged
In return for their release, Israel will have to exchange 150 Palestinian prisoners, women and minors held in its prisons for “security-related offenses” according to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. “The Israeli Ministry of Justice published on Wednesday the list of Palestinian prisoners whose release is affected by the negotiations,” indicates the daily.
It contains a total of 300 names, twice as many as required by the agreement, with the aim “that Hamas will be able to locate a greater number of hostages and be willing to exchange them for other prisoners.” “. THE Jerusalem Post It further specifies that among the names published are “123 minors under the age of 18. Five of them are 14 years old, imprisoned for offenses ranging from throwing incendiary bombs to arson.”
Humanitarian equipment
The negotiations also focused on the entry of trucks of humanitarian aid and fuel via the Egyptian Rafah terminal, conditional on the green light from Israel, Gaza being besieged, as well as in the rest of the Strip including the north. “The start of this pause will be announced in the next 24 hours and will last four days, with the possibility of extension,” welcomed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Gulf emirate on the social network alongside Egypt and the United States.
This truce was eagerly awaited by civilians and humanitarian organizations, while Unicef warned on Tuesday November 21 of the risk of a health “tragedy” in Gaza, where water is “cruelly lacking” and the shortage of fuel risks to cause the “collapse of sanitation services” and the proliferation of diseases. In the Palestinian territory, more than 14,000 people have been killed in Israeli bombings in recent weeks, including more than 5,800 children, according to the Hamas government, a toll that no independent source is able to verify. .
The security minister opposed to the agreement
But the agreement was not unanimous among the entire Israeli government. While a large majority were in favor of this decision, the Otzma Yehudit party of Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben Gvir, a figure of the Israeli extreme right, voted against. Opponents “warned that this would harm Israel’s ability to secure the release of all the hostages and complicate Israel’s military campaign to drive Hamas from Gaza,” explains the Jerusalem Post.
But for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, this truce agreement does not mean the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, he warned Tuesday evening, saying he wanted a “full force” resumption of operations after the truce in order to to “defeat” Hamas and “create the conditions necessary to bring home more hostages.”