Netanyahu makes the expected 'hostage swap' announcement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that an agreement on a 'hostage swap' has been reached. Netanyahu also stated that they will continue the war against Hamas.
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As the clashes between Israel and Hamas continue to intensify on their 46th day, a critical 'hostage swap' announcement has come from Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held a press conference before the cabinet meeting he would chair to address the hostage swap deal, announced that the hostages would be released in stages.
Stating that US President Joe Biden helped reach the agreement for the release of more hostages, Netanyahu said, “The Israeli government faced a difficult decision this evening. But it made the right decision.”
“THE WAR WILL CONTINUE”
Stating that the army supports the agreement, Netanyahu said, “We are continuing the war and we will continue it until we reach all our goals. We will eliminate Hamas, we will bring back all the kidnapped people, and we will guarantee that no element in Gaza will threaten Israel,” he said.
Netanyahu did not provide further details regarding the agreement. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who appeared before the cameras after Netanyahu, also said that the agreement is the first step toward the release of all hostages.
ONE HOSTAGE DEAD
At the time these statements were being made by Tel Aviv, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization announced that an Israeli hostage had died.
The Al-Quds Brigades, affiliated with Islamic Jihad, stated that they had previously expressed their desire to release the captive for humanitarian reasons, but that “the woman lost her life as a result of Israel's stalling.”
On the other hand, Israeli state television KAN announced that the Israeli army had accepted the expected hostage swap deal with Hamas, noting that the days of the ceasefire could be used to reorganize army forces in preparation for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza Strip.
The report stated, “It can be said that the Israeli army accepted the agreement without hesitation at this stage. It is said within the army that the ceasefire could be used to reorganize forces on the ground. Preparations are also being made to expand the ground maneuver to the south of the Gaza Strip.”
“4-DAY CEASEFIRE”
According to KAN, the agreement includes a 4-day ceasefire and the release of 50 Israeli hostages (children and women) within 4 days, in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, from its prisons.
“RELEASE OF HOSTAGES TO BEGIN ON THURSDAY”
Reports in the Hebrew press indicated that Israeli ministers were informed that the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas would begin on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 12 television reported that the Prime Minister's Office has planned a 5-stage process for the return of the released hostages to their country.
According to these stages, in the first phase, Hamas will hand over the hostages to International Committee of the Red Cross officials, who will then transfer them to the Israeli army.
The hostages will then undergo an initial medical check by officials and will subsequently be taken to one of 5 isolated medical centers across Israel to meet with their families.
Finally, the hostages will undergo a “debriefing” session with security officials.
HOW MANY HOSTAGES ARE THERE?
It is stated that there are 219 Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas. There are approximately 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, more than 2,000 of whom are administrative detainees.