BREAKING: The US, Israel, and Hamas have reached an agreement to PAUSE THE CONFLICT and free DOZENS OF HOSTAGES held in Gaza. Here is a gift link: t.co/hw2cnWBSNk
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) November 19, 2023
Israel and Hamas reached a tentative deal brokered by the Biden administration that will pause the conflict and free dozens of women and children being held hostage in Gaza.
Under the terms of a detailed, six-page agreement, all parties to the conflict would freeze combat operations for at least five days while an initial 50 or more of what are believed to be a total 239 hostages are released in batches every 24 hours. Overhead surveillance would monitor movement on the ground to police the pause.
The stop in fighting is also intended to allow a significant increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance, including fuel, to enter the besieged enclave from Egypt.
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The stop in fighting is also intended to allow a significant increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance, including fuel, to enter the besieged enclave from Egypt.
The decision to accept the deal is difficult for Israel, said one person familiar with the situation who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. While there is strong domestic pressure on Netanyahu to bring the hostages home, there are also loud voices in Israel demanding that the government not barter for their release.
After initial hesitation, the Biden administration, has fully backed a temporary pause in the fighting.
Beginning with President Biden’s trip to Tel Aviv a week after the war began, and followed by multiple visits from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials, the administration has pushed hard with Netanyahu to understand that it is losing the narrative high ground as more Palestinians die. The death toll in Gaza is now reportedly more than 11,000.
The administration’s highest priority, however, has been freeing the nine Americans and one permanent U.S. resident among the hostages. “I think we need a pause,” Biden said two weeks ago at a campaign event. “A pause means time to get the prisoners out.”
A week later, asked about reports he had pushed for a three-day stop in the fighting, Biden said he had asked Netanyahu for “an even longer pause.” In his news conference Thursday after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he said the hostages were “on our mind every single day,” and that he was working on a way to “have a period of time where there’s a pause long enough” to let them be released.
U.S. officials have said they believe a pause would allow Hamas to gather the hostages and arrangements could be made to escort them safely through the battlefield. It was not clear that the Americans or other foreigners would be included in the initial tranche of releases. The hope is that if the release of women and children is successful, other groups of captives will then follow.
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