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Qatar says four-day humanitarian pause in Gaza subject to extension
The pause, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US, includes the release of 50 civilian women and children hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons, the ministry said in a statement.
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This handout picture released by the Israeli army on November 16, 2023, shows troops during a military operation in the northern Gaza Strip amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
(AFP/Israeli Army)
Q
atari foreign ministry said on Wednesday Hamas and Israel have agreed on a humanitarian pause in Gaza hostilities for four days, subject to extension, the starting time of the which will be announced within the next 24 hours.
The pause, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US, includes the release of 50 civilian women and children hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons, the ministry said in a statement.
"The number of those released will be increased in later stages of implementation of the agreement," the ministry said.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said he was deeply relieved that some hostages taken when Hamas militants stormed into Israel on October 7 will soon go free under a deal brokered with help from across the Middle East.
"I am extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls... will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
Biden thanked the leaders of Qatar and Egypt for their "critical leadership" in reaching the deal and also hailed Israel for agreeing to an extended pause in fighting in Gaza to allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
He noted that two American hostages were freed in late October as part of intense diplomacy.
"Today's deal should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released," Biden said.
The four-day truce announced Tuesday after weeks of all-out war marked the first major diplomatic breakthrough since fighting began more than six weeks ago.
Under the Qatar-brokered deal, Palestinian militants will release 50 women and children kidnapped during their October 7 raids, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians.
A senior US official said three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, were among the 50 earmarked for staggered release from Thursday.
