International reaction to Israel-Hamas truce

Summary

• More than 14,100 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas's attacks stands at about 1,200.
• Israel and Hamas agree on Qatar-mediated deal for a four-day truce in Gaza and release of 50 captives held in the enclave.
• 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails will be freed as part of the deal.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu says agreement does not mean war will stop, vows Israeli military will press on after the pause in fighting.
• Israeli bombardments continue overnight across Gaza, including around Indonesian Hospital and in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.

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As the Hamas-Israel war drags on, here are the latest updates:

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04:46pm

International reaction to Israel-Hamas truce

As reactions to the deal keep coming in from all corners of the world, here's a roundup from Al Jazeera:

• China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing hopes the deal "will help alleviate the plight of the humanitarian crisis, promote the de-escalation of conflicts, and ease tensions".
• Britain welcomed the pause as a "crucial step" towards providing relief to the families of the hostages and addressing the humanitarian crisis.
• US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar and Egypt for their efforts to secure the agreement and stressed it needed to be "carried through in its entirety".
• Russia hailed the deal as the "first good news for a long time" and said humanitarian pauses were the only way towards a sustainable settlement.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would use the pause in fighting for a "humanitarian surge to Gaza".

 

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03:37pm

Several killed in Israeli raids in West Bank

While Israel has continued its attack on Gaza, killing at least 100 Palestinians across the enclave overnight and this morning, its targeting of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has also continued.

Here are the latest developments Al Jazeera has :

• Five Palestinians have been killed and five injured in an Israeli raid on the Tulkarem refugee camp.
• One Palestinian was killed during an Israeli raid in Azzun, east of Qalqilya.
• At least 23 Palestinians were detained in a raid on Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem.
• Other raids took place in Awarta, southeast of Nablus; al-Dahiriyah and Idhna, south of Hebron; and Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah.

 

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03:07pm

The Israel-Hamas deal - a quick recap

• A four-day pause in fighting is due to be announced in the next 24 hours
• In that phase, Hamas will release 50 hostages from Gaza
• Israel will then release 150 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli detention
• In the second phase, the pause in fighting will be extended by a day for every 10 further hostages released
• Israel will release "up to" another 150 Palestinian detainees, if "up to" another 50 hostages are released from Gaza
• Israel has published a list of 300 Palestinians who could be released in total - most are male teenagers

Source: BBC

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03:05pm

14 ambulances arrive at al-Shifa hospital to evacuate patients

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says 14 ambulances have arrived at al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, to evacuate patients, reports BBC.

Israel occupied the Gaza City hospital last week after fierce fighting, while hundreds of patients and staff remained trapped inside.

We reported on Saturday that hundreds of people had been evacuated. It's thought around 300 critically ill people remained.

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02:05pm

274 of 300 Palestinian detainees listed for release are male

More details are on the list shared by Israel's justice ministry of 300 Palestinian detainees who could be released, reports BBC.

it said, most detainees are aged 17 or 18, with the overall age range 14-59. The majority of the detainees - 274 of 300 - are male.

Also listed are the offences of the detainees. They include attempted murder, throwing a bomb, creating an explosive or incendiary object, throwing stones, contact with a hostile organisation, grievous bodily harm and arson on nationalist grounds.

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01:59pm

Israel says its unit commander killed in northern Gaza

The Israeli army says a unit commander in its Golani Brigade was killed during the fighting in northern Gaza, reports Al Jazeera.

At least 71 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of its ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. Palestinian fighters say losses by Israeli forces are greater than that.

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01:56pm

Sixty female Palestinians included in list of prisoners to be released

The list of 300 Palestinian prisoners published by the Israeli Ministry of Justice includes about 60 female prisoners in addition to dozens of others, most of whom were arrested in the last two years.

Most of the charges against them range from harming the security of the region, infiltrating into Israel without a permit, throwing stones, possessing weapons and causing damage.

Israel said it decided to release some of them in order to allow the Israelis who want to object and petition the Supreme Court to prevent this.

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01:33pm

Israeli 'non-civilian prisoners' will not be freed: Palestinian Islamic Jihad

In a statement on their Telegram channel, the armed group says Israeli soldiers will not be released until "all our prisoners are liberated from enemy prisons" reports Al Jazeera.

"We emphasise our continued confrontation of aggression, at all field and political levels, in order to thwart all the goals of this aggression," the statement added.

In addition to Hamas, the PIJ has also been holding captives that were captured on October 7.

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12:07pm

At least nine killed in Israeli strikes on Nuseirat, Jabalia refugee camps

At least nine Palestinians have been killed and several injured after the latest Israeli strike on central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, reports Al Jazeera.

Medical sources told Palestinian news agency Wafa that children were among those killed in the attack on the Ayyash family home.

An unnamed source also told Wafa that several people are also feared dead in another Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northeastern Gaza.

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11:55am

All important aspects of deal fully implemented: Biden

US President Joe Biden has released a statement, specifically welcoming the deal to release captives held by Hamas. Biden thanked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt for "their critical leadership and partnership in reaching this deal", reports Al Jazeera.

He added that he "appreciate[d] the commitment that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government have made in supporting an extended pause". 

"I look forward to speaking with each of these leaders and staying in close contact as we work to ensure this deal is carried through in its entirety," Biden added.

"It is important that all aspects of this deal be fully implemented," the US president said.

Although the statement issued by the White House did not repeat specific details of the deal already released by Israel, Hamas and Qatar, which acted as a mediator, Biden's statement did refer specifically to US citizens.

"Today's deal should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released," he said.

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10.00am

Israeli forces raid hospital in the occupied West Bank's Tulkarem

According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli soldiers raided the emergency department of Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarem and forcefully arrested an injured patient seeking treatment there.

The condition of the injured patient is unclear, reports Al-Jazeera.

Earlier, it was reported that two strikes hit a house in the Balawneh neighbourhood in the Tulkarem refugee camp, wounding at least three young men.

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9:55am

Qatar confirms humanitarian pause, exchange deal for Gaza captives

Qatar, a mediator in the Gaza truce talks, has confirmed that a humanitarian pause has been agreed in Gaza.

A statement posted by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided additional details including that:

• The starting time of the pause will be announced within the next 24 hours
• The pause will last for four days, subject to extension
• The agreement includes the release of 50 civilian women and children currently held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of several Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons.

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9:41am

150 Palestinians will be released from Israeli jails under deal: Hamas

BBC in it`s breaking news says;

"We've been hearing from Israel on the hostage deal signed off by the cabinet a little while ago. Hamas has also released a statement on the agreement."

The statement, published via the Palestinian Information Centre which carries the group's official statements, said the 50 hostages would be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children being held in Israeli jails".

The deal will also allow hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, medical supplies and fuel to enter Gaza, according to Hamas, writes BBC.

The statement added that Israel said it would not attack or arrest anyone in Gaza during the pause in fighting.

And it said that during the four-day pause, air traffic will completely stop in southern Gaza and will halt for six hours a day, from 10:00 to 16:00 local time, in northern Gaza.

Hamas, considered a terrorist group by many countries including the UK and the US, abducted around 240 people from Israel during its brutal attacks on 7 October.

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9:36am

US Jewish group that opposes Israeli war on Gaza welcomes truce

IfNotNow national spokesperson Eva Borgwardt says her organisation welcomes "the temporary cessation of hostilities between Israeli and Hamas".

"Negotiations must build on this agreement to secure a long-term ceasefire that is still urgently needed to end the bloodshed, bring every hostage home, and rebuild Gaza," she said in a statement.

"As the millions calling for a ceasefire have been saying for over a month, this deal is proof that there is no military solution to this crisis."

The group has opposed Israel's military operation in Gaza and has long been a critic of the Israeli "apartheid" against Palestinians.

Source; Al Jazeera

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9:31am

Hamas releases more details on Gaza truce agreement

The Palestinian group confirmed that the temporary ceasefire agreed to by both sides would last four days, reports Al Jazeera.

In a statement shared on Telegram, Hamas said this means that during this period:

• Israel will stop military actions in all areas of the Gaza Strip, including movement of military vehicles
• Hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks, including medical and fuel supplies, will be allowed into Gaza
• Drones in southern Gaza will stop for four days. They will stop in the north for six hours per day, between 10am and 4pm local time
• During the truce period, Israel "is committed not to attack or arrest anyone in all areas of the Gaza Strip"
• Freedom of movement will be guaranteed along Salah al-Deen Street

Hamas also said that 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons would be released as part of the deal, Al Jazeera added

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9:29am

Deal is designed to encourage more hostage releases

BBC's Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem, Yolande Knell said,the deal is designed to encourage more hostage releases. While it initially allows for 50 women and child hostages to be freed in batches by Hamas in exchange for a four-day pause in fighting, the deal has evidently been structured to encourage further releases.

The incentive is a longer pause in fighting: "The release of every additional 10 hostages will result in one additional day in the pause," the Israeli government statement says.

That clause is an important one for the hostage's families, some of whom had told me they didn't want to see a partial deal, Knell writes. It is also expected that the 50 hostages to be released would be those with Israeli nationality or dual nationals, he added.

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9:23am

Partial hostage deal, says Israeli media

The government approved early Wednesday morning a partial hostage deal that includes a pause in the Gaza war in exchange for a release of up to 80 out of over 239 people seized by terrorists during Hamas' infiltration of southern Israel on October 7, reports Jerusalem Post.

Opponents of the deal warned that it will harm Israel's ability to secure the release of all the hostages and complicate Israel's military campaign to oust Hamas from Gaza. They also warned that it will be difficult to resume the war once it has been temporarily halted, the media added.

Netanyahu dismissed those charges explaining that the IDF planned to resume the war once the deal was executed.

The Religious Zionist party headed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the Otzma Yehudit party headed by Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stated before the meeting that they planned to oppose the deal, although the Religious Zionist party ultimately voted in favor of the deal early Wednesday morning.

Such an agreement is "bad for Israeli security, bad for the captives, and bad for the IDF soldiers," the RZP stated before the meeting.

It noted that obviously, its heart went out to the families and that it, like them, wanted to see all the captives safely returned.

"It is precisely for this reason that the deal should not be approved," the RZP said.

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9:08am

Full Israeli government statement on Gaza deal

"The Government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages.

"Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.

"The Government of Israel, the [Israeli army] and the security services will continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza."

Source: Al Jazeera

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9:00am

Israel's approval of Gaza deal comes amid continued pressure on Netanyahu

The Israeli government's approval of the temporary Gaza truce deal comes as Netanyahu has faced weeks of pressure from the Israeli public, most notably the families of captives held in the bombarded enclave, reports Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu said ahead of the vote – announced shortly after 3am local time in Israel (01:00 GMT) – that he spent last night meeting with some of those families.

He told them that returning their loved ones was "a sacred and supreme task", Netanyahu said.

But the Israeli prime minister has also been clear that he has no intention of ending Israel's war on Gaza.

"Let me make it clear," he said earlier, "we are at war – and will continue the war".

He said Israel will not stop until it achieves its goals, which are "eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and assuring that … Gaza will no longer threaten Israel".