Hamas, Israel Agree to Four-Day Truce That Includes Prisoner Exchange

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Hamas, the Palestinian resistance movement that controls Gaza, announced on Wednesday that it had reached a four-day ceasefire deal with the Israeli regime, following indirect talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

The deal includes a prisoner swap and a number of measures to allow humanitarian aid to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli cabinet backed the agreement after talks that continued into the early hours of Wednesday morning, with Israeli media reporting heated exchanges between ministers of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Hamas released a statement on Wednesday morning, saying the agreement was reached following difficult and complex indirect negotiations.

The agreement involved prisoner exchange deal and a number of clauses that will ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into the entire Gaza Strip "without exception," Hamas said, Al-Mayadeen TV Network reported.

Providing further details of the truce, Hamas said the agreement on the military level includes the cessation of all hostilities from both sides. A halt of all Israeli military actions in all areas of the Gaza Strip, the cessation of Israeli military vehicle movement in the Gaza Strip, the cessation of Israeli military overflights in the southern Gaza Strip for four consecutive days, and the limitation of Israeli military overflights in the northern Gaza Strip to six hours daily, are among other reported clauses of the deal.

On the humanitarian level, hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian, relief, and medical aid will reach all areas of the Gaza Strip without exception while fuel deliveries will be allowed into the Gaza Strip, Hamas said.

On the prisoner exchange deal, 50 captives will be released from the Gaza Strip in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, according to the statement.

It also said that released prisoners from both sides will only include women and individuals under the age of 19.

Moreover, Hamas revealed that the occupation agreed to refrain from targeting or arresting any individuals throughout the truce's timeframe. The Resistance movement also said that the freedom of movement will be ensured for all Palestinians along Salah al-Din Street, which connects the districts of the Gaza Strip.

The movement reiterated that the terms of the agreement were formulated and achieved according to the vision and objectives of the Resistance, which aims to serve its people and aid their resilience in the face of the Israeli occupation.

Source: Agencies