Israel and Hamas Agree on Prisoner Exchange

People gather at Hostage Square to march to the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, Israel to hold a demonstration demanding a prisoner exchange on November 14, 2023. (Nir Keidar - Anadolu Agency)

ISTAMBUL - The Israeli government and the Palestinian defense group Hamas agreed to a prisoner exchange agreement on Wednesday, November 29 morning.

After about six hours of debate, a deal announced by the Israeli Cabinet said that 50 hostages consisting of children, mothers and elderly women held by Hamas in Gaza would be released in exchange for a four-day ceasefire, according to authorities. Israeli broadcasting as quoted from Anodalu.

The lull in fighting will add an additional day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas. During a Cabinet meeting, ministers were told that the first group of prisoners would be released on Thursday.

The Israeli government says this is the first phase of the plan, namely returning the captives to their homes. The war will continue until all objectives are achieved: returning all Israeli hostages and eliminating Hamas.

Although the Israeli Broadcasting Authority did not mention the number of Palestinian prisoners it would release in return. Quoted from Hebrew Channel 12 (Israel's free television channel) said earlier that as part of the agreement, 150 Palestinian prisoners would be released and 300 truckloads of humanitarian supplies including fuel would enter every day.

Hamas announced it reached a four-day humanitarian aid deal with Israel after “long days of difficult and complex negotiations…with the efforts of Qatar and Egypt.”

"In accordance with the agreement, there will be a ceasefire by both parties, a cessation of all military actions by the occupying army throughout the Gaza Strip and a cessation of the movement of military vehicles entering the Gaza Strip," the statement said.

Hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, medical aid and fuel will be allowed into all areas of the Gaza Strip, without exception, in the north and south, according to Hamas.

The agreement includes “the release of 50 women and children prisoners of the occupation under the age of 19 in exchange for the release of 150 women and children of our people from prisons of the occupation under the age of 19, all according to their age. ”

The de-escalation also includes "the suspension of air traffic in the south of the Gaza Strip for four days and the suspension of air traffic in the north for 6 hours a day from 10 am to 4 pm."

Hamas emphasized that “during the ceasefire period, the occupiers are committed not to attack or arrest anyone in the entire territory of the Gaza Strip” in addition to “guaranteeing the freedom of movement of people from north to south along the Salah al-Din Road.”

“Even though we announced that we had reached a de-escalation agreement, we emphasized that our hand would remain the trigger and we promised our people that we would remain loyal to their blood, their sacrifices and their aspirations for liberation, freedom and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital," added Hamas.