A demonstrator displays a placard with the lettering reading 'Stop the Genocide' during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip at Warsaw, Poland on October 29, 2023. Photo by Wojtek Radwanski/AFP.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas confirmed that a 4-day humanitarian truce has been achieved in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.
On Wednesday, November 22, at dawn, Hamas announced that an agreement has been reached between Palestinian resistance movements and the Israeli entity for a 4-day ceasefire in Gaza, with the provision of possible extension. The ceasefire will enter into effect from Thursday, November 23.
The deal, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, consists of clauses much closer to Hamas’—and not the occupation entity’s—conditions of an extended ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The hostage swap deal also appears to be closer to what Hamas had demanded.
“According to the agreement, a ceasefire will be established by both sides, as well as the cessation of all military actions of the occupation army in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” Al Jazeera reported. “Under the agreement, the movement of Israeli military vehicles in the Gaza Strip will also be suspended.”
“During the period of the truce, the occupation will not carry out any attack or arrest anyone in all areas of the Gaza Strip,” the report added.
According to said report, the agreement entails that “50 Israeli hostages, women and children, will be released in exchange for the release of 150 women and children of our people in the prisons of the occupation.” However, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Authority, Qaddoura Fares, later announced that “the prisoner exchange deal includes the release of 350 Palestinian children and 82 Palestinian women,” although he did not clarify whether all of them will be released at once, or in phases.
The agreement further entails the entry of “trucks of humanitarian, relief and medical aid and fuel to all areas of the Gaza Strip,” and guarantees “the free movement of people from north to south along Salah al-Din Street.”
According to the deal, air traffic in the southern part of Gaza Strip will be completely suspended during the ceasefire, while in the north air traffic will be suspended for six hours a day.
“As we announce the conclusion of the truce agreement, we affirm that our hands will remain on the trigger, and our battalions will remain alert to defend our people,” Hamas announced in a statement.
“The Resistance was able to achieve the negotiations from a position of steadfastness and strength on the ground despite the attempts of the occupation to prolong them,” the statement added. “The terms of the agreement were formulated in accordance with the vision of the Resistance, which aim to serve our people and strengthen their steadfastness in the face of aggression.”
The Israeli entity ratified the deal after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where everyone except three far-right ministers affiliated with the Religious Zionist Party supported the deal.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced on Tuesday that it was holding 200 prisoners, out of over 250 Israelis in total captured by the Palestinian Resistance factions in the Al-Aqsa Flood operation of October 7. They added that the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed at least 60 Israeli hostages since the start of the war.
Another Palestinian Resistance faction, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, welcomed the truce, but added that “non-civilian Israeli prisoners will not gain freedom until all Palestinian prisoners are liberated from occupation prisons.”
Before the ceasefire goes into effect, the occupation has intensified bombardment of residential areas and civilian targets in northern and central Gaza Strip. Over Tuesday and Wednesday, the Israeli entity has continuously bombed the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital and their vicinities in Gaza City, creating dire humanitarian crisis in both hospitals. The entity has also intensified attacks on Palestinians in occupied West Bank, including a drone attack on the Tulkarm refugee camp that killed six people.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by Saheli Chowdhury
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Saheli Chowdhury
Saheli Chowdhury is from West Bengal, India, studying physics for a profession, but with a passion for writing. She is interested in history and popular movements around the world, especially in the Global South. She is a contributor and works for Orinoco Tribune.
