Qatar. A truce has been reached in the conflict between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip. The first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which will last 42 days, will involve Israeli forces positioned along the Gaza border, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said. Under this phase, Hamas will release 33 Israeli prisoners, including civilian women, children, the elderly, and wounded or sick civilians. In exchange, Israel will release a certain number of prisoners held in Israeli jails, he said (30 for each civilian and 50 for each military member). The phase will include the return of displaced persons to their homes, he said. It will also facilitate the transfer of the wounded and sick for treatment. The first phase will include increasing the flow of relief and humanitarian aid to all parts of the Gaza Strip, as well as the rehabilitation of hospitals, health centers, and bakeries. The phase will allow the entry of fuel and civil defense equipment, as well as basic necessities for displaced persons who have lost their homes due to the war. This follows 467 days of war between Israel and Hamas, which began with the Palestinian Islamist organization’s pogrom against Israeli kibbutzim on October 7, 2023. The war has caused enormous casualties: approximately 1,700 Israelis, including 1,200 victims of the initial terrorist attack and soldiers killed in the fighting; and approximately 46,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas data, but a British study published in the Lancet estimates this figure to be 40% higher. In addition, approximately 3,700 Lebanese died in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Shiite militia that joined forces with Hamas to launch a missile offensive against the north of the Jewish state. At the epicenter of the conflict, the Gaza Strip, the effects of Israel’s response are devastating: 90% of the 2.3 million inhabitants have been forced to flee their homes, much of which have been destroyed, and are barely surviving famine, epidemics, and freezing temperatures. Meanwhile, due to the weakening of Hezbollah and Iran, the Syrian regime has collapsed after half a century.
