Agreement Implementation From Sunday, a 3- to 5-year reconstruction plan in Gaza
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
A ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which has been at war for 15 months in the Gaza Strip. The war escalated when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 48,000 people died during the war.
An agreement was reached on Thursday morning in the talks held in Doha, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt. According to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, who mediated, the ceasefire will come into effect on Sunday. The BBC reports that the ceasefire will only come into force after the Israeli cabinet approves it.
3 phases of ceasefire
During the war, about 1,400 people died on the Israeli side, while 46,788 people, including 18,000 children, died on the Palestinian side. The BBC reported that 81 of them were killed in another attack by Israel on Thursday. Israel attacked even after the ceasefire agreement.
At least 100,000 have been injured in the war. More than 2.3 million have been displaced from the Gaza Strip. Sixty percent of the structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed. In the ceasefire agreement, it has been agreed to return the displaced people home. But the UN official says that it is not possible for the Palestinians to return without removing the ruins.
Israel has delayed the approval of the agreement by the cabinet, claiming that Hamas has "rejected some parts" of the agreement. A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Palestinian groups are trying to take advantage of the last minute". "The cabinet meeting will not take place until the mediator informs Israel that Hamas has accepted all the terms of the agreement," a statement issued by the spokesman said.
The main party in Netanyahu's coalition government has warned that it will leave the government if it does not return to war after the first phase of the deal with Hamas. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's far-right Religious Zionist Party said it would "immediately return to war after the end of the first phase of the deal to destroy Hamas and return all hostages." CNN reported that the group demanded a written guarantee from Netanyahu to return to war.
Itamar Ben Gavir, a member of the coalition party Jewish Power Party and Israel's Minister of National Security, has also threatened to leave the government. But none of these two parties have enough MPs to topple the government. If both parties agree, Netanyahu's government will be in the minority. According to CNN, there were small demonstrations in some parts of Jerusalem against the ceasefire agreement. Prime Minister Netanyahu has not yet commented on the ceasefire agreement.
David Barnia, the head of the intelligence agency Mossad, and Ronen Barr, the director of the internal security agency Shin Bet, and Khalil al-Hayya, the acting head of the political bureau and chief negotiator for Hamas, were present in the bilateral talks on the ceasefire that ended on Thursday. Prime Minister Thani, the director of Egypt's intelligence agency Hassan Rasad, US President Joe Biden and Donald Trump's special envoys Brett McGurk and Steve Wittkoff moderated the talks. According to the
agreement, the ceasefire will be implemented in three phases. The first phase will last for 6 weeks and during that period 33 people, including Israeli soldiers, women, children, elderly and wounded, who were held hostage by Hamas, will be released. With that, Israel will begin withdrawing troops from Palestinian settlements.
Similarly, 5 Israeli women soldiers out of 33 people under the control of Hamas will be released and in exchange for each of them, 50 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons will have to be released. There are at least 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. About 1,000 of them will be released. Of those released, 190 are serving at least 15 years in prison.
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people. 251 people were taken hostage by Hamas. Among them, Hamas has freed 109 disabled and humanitarian aid temporary truces. 8 were freed by the Israeli army and 37 were handed over after death. 3 people who escaped from the control of Hamas were killed in an attack by the Israeli army.
According to the Israeli Prime Minister's office, out of the 94 people still under the control of Hamas, there are 1 from Tanzania, 8 from Thailand and 84 from Israel, including Bipin Joshi from Nepal. Among them are 81 males and 13 females. 2 are under 5 years old.
In the first phase, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza and humanitarian aid will be provided there. About 600 trucks will be allowed in every day for humanitarian aid.
It is mentioned in the agreement that the second phase of the ceasefire will be further discussed from the 16th day of the first phase. In the second phase, Israeli forces will be completely withdrawn from Gaza and instead Hamas will release more prisoners, including soldiers.
It is mentioned in the agreement that Hamas will return the remaining hostages or dead bodies in exchange for a 3 to 5-year reconstruction plan to be carried out in Gaza under international supervision in the third phase.
US President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who will take over as US President from January 20, have welcomed the agreement. Speaking at the presidential office, Biden said that the ceasefire negotiations were the most difficult of his career and that he was satisfied with the agreement.
Trump said the deal was possible because he won the presidential election in November. "The agreement sends a message to the rest of the world seeking peace to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies," Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social. Iran's Revolutionary Guards welcomed the deal and said it was a victory for Hamas.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the ceasefire agreement would be a major relief for both the hostages and their families, as well as the Palestinians. He says that the agreement should open the way for humanitarian aid in the war-torn region. Even if both sides come to an immediate agreement with the American pressure, the agencies claim that there is little chance of a permanent cessation of war in Gaza. Both Hamas and Israel do not accept each other's existence.
Hamas, founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, does not consider Israel a 'country'. Palestinians use the name Palestine to refer to the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem as a whole. In the charter issued by Hamas in 1988 with the goal of establishing an independent Islamic state in Palestine, it is mentioned that the end of Hamas will be only after the complete destruction of the Jewish community and Israel. Israel has also been saying that the war will not stop until Hamas is destroyed.
The reason why Israel and Hamas are so aggressive, angry and intolerant towards each other is the development during World War II. Palestine, located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, was occupied by the Ottoman Empire in 1516. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Britain retained control of Palestine. After the Second World War, there was a demand for a separate country for the Jews.
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly decided to create two states for Jews and Muslims in Palestine. It was decided to internationalize Jerusalem and the surrounding area claimed by both sides. After the end of British rule on June 14, 1948, a part of Palestine became the Jewish state of Israel. It was arranged that Jews from any part of the world could live in Israel, not only those who lived there before.
However, the neighboring countries of Palestine did not agree with the decision to create the state of Israel. From that, the Muslims of Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and other countries attacked Israel. In the war that lasted for 10 months, Israel was not only victorious, but also occupied a large area reserved for the Palestinians. However, the nations that did not recognize Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq attacked Israel again in 1967. Since then, tensions have continued not only between Israel and Palestine, but also between neighboring Muslim countries.
(with agency support)
