Israel-Hamas war: Paris “hopes” for the release of French people among the hostages – L’Express

⇒ An agreement for a four-day truce in the Gaza Strip.

⇒ 50 hostages held by Hamas must be released.

⇒ Israeli Defense Minister warns this is not the “end of the war”.

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 a statement. The agreement to release hostages is “the right decision” to take, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Tuesday evening before the start of his cabinet meeting, which continued early Wednesday with this green light.

Around 240 people were kidnapped during the bloody attack launched on October 7 against Israel by the Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, whose leader Ismaïl Haniyeh had reported progress in the talks, welcomed a “humanitarian truce” agreement, specifying that the “provisions of this agreement were formulated in accordance with the vision of the resistance”.

After statements from the Israeli government and Hamas, the authorities of Qatar, the Gulf emirate at the center of the truce talks, confirmed an agreement for a “humanitarian pause” in the Gaza Strip. “The start of this pause will be announced in the next 24 hours and will last four days, with the possibility of extension,” the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared on X, welcoming the “success” of its joint mediation with Egypt and United States.

Doha has been working for weeks with Washington and Cairo to obtain the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for that of Palestinian prisoners and a truce in the fighting. US President Joe Biden said he was “extraordinarily satisfied” with the agreement.

A senior official of the Hamas terrorist movement told AFP he expected “that a first exchange of 10 hostages for 30 prisoners would be carried out on Thursday” and that this “truce could be extended”. After 50 hostages freed, “the release of ten additional hostages will lead to an additional day of pause” in the fighting, the Israeli government said.

But this truce agreement does not mean the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Tuesday evening, saying he wanted a “full force” resumption of operations after the truce in order to “undo “Hamas and to “create the necessary conditions to bring home other hostages.”

“The Israeli government, Israeli army and security forces will continue the war to return all abductees, eliminate Hamas and ensure that there is no further threat to the State of Israel from Gaza,” the government also confirmed after its vote.

International organizations and many foreign capitals are increasing calls for a ceasefire or a truce in the face of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the small besieged territory where 14,000 people including 5,800 children have been killed in Israeli bombings, according to the Hamas government.

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen “warmly welcomed” the agreement on a humanitarian truce in Gaza and on the release of hostages kidnapped in Israel by Hamas militants, calling for “taking advantage of this pause” to “step up” humanitarian aid.

The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, said she “hopes” for the release of French people among the hostages. “We are working on it,” Catherine Colonna told France Inter radio, stressing that she remained cautious because “each party must keep their part of the contract.” The minister also praised “particularly the work of Qatar”, which played the role of mediator to obtain the agreement between the Palestinian Islamist group and Hamas.

At least five fighters from a pro-Iran group were killed early Wednesday in Iraq by American strikes targeting two sites south of the capital Baghdad, two security sources told AFP.

Earlier, the US Middle East Military Command, Centcom, announced that it had carried out “precision strikes” on two sites in Iraq, in retaliation for recent attacks by pro-Iran groups against US troops and international coalition forces. anti-jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

In southern Lebanon, eight people including two journalists were killed Tuesday in Israeli strikes, reports the official Lebanese news agency. The Israeli army reported several shots overnight from Lebanon towards northern Israel at a time when the international community fears an extension of the conflict in the region.

Thanks to the truce agreement in Gaza, the senior White House official said that Washington now hoped for a “complete pause” in hostilities between Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli army on the Israel/Lebanon border.