Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas, 50 hostages to be released  

JERUSALEM: Israel has agreed to a truce-for-hostages deal with Hamas which will see a four-day halt in fighting in the six-week war and a release of dozens of hostages held at the Gaza strip.

The deal, which was bickered by Qatar will also see the release of several Palestinian prisoners currently being held in Israeli prisons.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it would announce within a day when the clock will start ticking on the truce, during which 50 hostages will be released in stages in exchange for what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinians prisoners held by Israel. Those freed by both sides will be women and children.

Also, in the new deal, humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza would also increase.

The announcement came hours after Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal. It capped weeks of indirect Qatari-led negotiations between Israel and Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years.

The United States and Egypt were also involved in stop-and-go talks to free some of the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza.

Hostage releases will begin roughly 24 hours after the deal is approved by all parties, said a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office made no mention of the release of Palestinian prisoners or increased humanitarian aid when it confirmed the Cabinet had approved the deal.

“The government of Israel is committed to bringing all of the hostages home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal,” the office said in a statement.

Ahead of the Cabinet vote, which came after a six-hour meeting stretching into the early morning, Netanyahu said the war against Hamas would resume after the truce expires.

“We are at war, and we will continue the war,” he said. “We will continue until we achieve all our goals.”

•  Additional reporting by AP