MOSCOW, Nov 23 Agreement on the exchange of hostages as part of the agreement A humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip provides for the release of three Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli, the Palestinian movement Hamas said.
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“Three Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, will be released in exchange for every Zionist (Israeli – Ed.) hostage,” the statement says.
According to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari, the four-day truce will come into force on November 24 at 7:00 local time (8:00 Moscow time). The first batch of Israeli hostages of 13 people will be handed over on the same day at about 16:00.
The day before, Israel and Hamas, through the mediation of Qatar, reached the first large-scale agreement since the escalation of the conflict on October 7: they agreed to cease hostilities for four days for the exchange dozens of hostages and arrestees held by each other. It was expected that the truce would begin on November 23, but then the deadlines were pushed back.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has remained a source of tension and fighting in the region for many decades. The UN decision in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.
A new round of confrontation began after Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7. After massive shelling, Hamas fighters entered the border areas in the south of the Jewish state, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took hostages. The movement's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords. Within days of the attack The Israeli military took control of all settlements near the border of the Gaza Strip and began carrying out airstrikes on objects, including civilians, in the enclave. In addition, Israel announced a complete blockade of Gaza: supplies of water, food, electricity, medicine and fuel were suspended At the end of October, the ground phase of the Israeli operation began: troops surrounded the city of Gaza, and the enclave was actually divided into southern and northern parts.
According to the latest data, the number of victims in the Gaza Strip exceeded 14.5 thousand people, among them more than six thousand children Another 35 thousand were injured. More than 1.2 thousand people were killed in Israel, including 20 Russians. In addition, according to various estimates, about 200-250 people may be held captive by Hamas.