[Gaza after 15 months of genocidal bombings by the Israeli Occupation Forces]
Doha: The Israeli political-security cabinet, popularly known as war cabinet, in its meeting held today i.e. Friday January 17, 2025, approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-prisoners exchange deal.
Likud’s David Amsalem joined Israeli's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other far-right ministers from the Religious Zionism and the Otzma Yehudit party in voting against the deal at today’s earlier security cabinet vote, which passed overwhelmingly.
The deal will now be moved in the Israeli Parliament Saturday. Israeli President Isaac Herzog while welcoming the decision of the security cabinet to approve the ceasefire-hostage release deal, said he "expects the government to do so as well soon.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli bombings of Gaza continues even after the ceasefire deal to be enforced Sunday. As per Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, 110 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours.
11:00 AM Friday January 17, 2025: The Israeli political-security cabinet, the infamous war cabinet, is set to vote and likely approve the Gaza Ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal today i.e. Friday January 17, 2025, Netanyahu's office said.
On Friday morning, the office of Netanyahu said a "deal to release the hostages" has been agreed.
He has ordered the political-security cabinet to convene later on Friday and the government "will then convene to approve the deal", Netanyahu's office said, accodring to BBC.
Thursday January 16, 2025: Israel on Thursday January 16, 2025 hold off the Gaza ceasfire deal accusing the Palestinian Resistance Group Hamas creating "last minute" wrenches into the negotiations.
Hamas has denied the Israeli claim.
“Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators,” Izzat al-Risheq, a senior member of the group’s political bureau, said in a Telegram post Thursday.
The statement came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office accused the Palestinian group of “reneging on the understandings” reached as part of the hostage deal and “creating a last-minute crisis that is preventing an agreement.”
“The Israeli cabinet will not convene [to approve the deal] until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement,” it stressed.
Wednesday January 15, 2025: Qatar and the United States Wednesday January 15, 2025 confirmed Palestinian Resistance Groups led by Hamas and Israel have finalised the deal to end over 15-month long war in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian lands.
Qatar Prime Minister a little while ago announced that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal for Gaza.
"Israel and Hamas have agreed a ceasefire starting on Sunday to halt the devastating 15-month war in Gaza", Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said.
Later, U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump confirmed the latest development.
The Israeli cabinet will meet Thursday January 16, 2025 to approve the terms of the deal.
Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza has killed at least 46,707 Palestinians and wounded 110,265 - majority of them women and children, since October 7, 2023.
The latest war in Gaza started following Operation al Aqsa Storm by Hamas led Resistance Groups.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel, a good number by the Zionist's own military, during the attacks on October 07, 2023.
Hamas taken more than 200 as captives. Out of them, over 100 were released in a deal last November.
Tuesday January 14, 2025: Qatar, the chief negotiator between Hamas and Israel Tuesday said the Gaza ceasefire deal is at its closest point yet and an announcement in this regard is expected any moment.
“We are closer than ever to a ceasefire deal, with all major issues ironed out”, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said a little while ago.
According to Al Jazeera, Hamas leaders have conducted a series of consultations with leaders of Palestinian factions, informing them about progress made in the ongoing negotiations in Doha, according to a statement from the group’s chapter in the occupied West Bank.
On the other hand, Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter said Israeli cabinet will approve Gaza deal despite opposition from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Dichter said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich both “know well that their votes will not be decisive regarding the deal to return the abductees”.
“We are in decisive moments regarding the return of the abductees, and we, the cabinet members, will ensure their return to their families,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meanwhile is meeting Smotrich, according to Israeli media reports, as negotiations for a ceasefire with Hamas advance. Netanyahu is trying to persuade Smotrich not to resign from the government over a potential deal, according to Israel’s Walla news site.
Earlier today, Ben-Gvir urged Smotrich to resign alongside him if Israel agreed to a ceasefire, in a last-ditch bid to thwart a potential deal.
In a related development, Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, said a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas appears to be within reach.
“We understand how painful any agreement with the terrorist organisation Hamas is for Israel. Nevertheless, the lives of the hostages must now have top priority,” he said in a statement.
Here is the draft of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the outstanding points published by the Saudi television channel "Al-Hadath".
Sources revealed details of the draft agreement being worked on including two stages, each of which lasts 42 days.
The first stage stipulated a temporary cessation of mutual military operations by both parties and the withdrawal of Israeli forces eastward and away from densely populated areas to an area adjacent to the border in all areas of the Gaza Strip, including the Gaza Valley (Netzarim axis and Kuwait Roundabout)
It also stipulated the return of the displaced to their areas of residence and the withdrawal from the Gaza Valley (Netzarim axis and Kuwait Roundabout).
[A Palestinian family in Gaza (October 2020 file image)]
On the 7th day (after the release of 7 detainees), the Israeli forces will withdraw completely from Rashid Street eastward to Salah al-Din Street, and the military sites and installations in this area will be completely dismantled, with the displaced beginning to return to their areas of residence (without carrying weapons during their return), as well as freedom of movement for residents in all areas of the Strip, and the entry of humanitarian aid from Rashid Street starting from the first day and without obstacles.
On the 22nd day, Israeli forces will withdraw from the center of the Strip (especially the Netzarim axis and the Kuwait Roundabout axis) east of Salah al-Din Road to an area close to the border, and military sites and installations will be completely dismantled.
The return of displaced persons to their places of residence (without carrying weapons when returning to their homes) in the northern Gaza Strip will continue, and freedom of movement for residents will continue in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the agreement stipulated that starting from the first day, intensive and sufficient quantities of humanitarian aid, relief materials and fuel would be brought in (600 trucks per day, including 50 fuel trucks, 300 of which would be for the north), including the fuel needed to operate the power plant, trade and equipment needed to remove rubble, rehabilitate and operate hospitals, health centers and bakeries in all areas of the Gaza Strip, and this would continue throughout all stages of the agreement.
In the details of the prisoner exchange between the two sides, the sources revealed that during the first stage, Hamas will release 33 Israeli detainees (alive or dead), including women (civilians and female soldiers), children (under the age of 19, not soldiers), the elderly (over the age of 50), and wounded and sick civilians, in exchange for a number of prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, according to the following:
The draft also detailed the stages and days of prisoner exchange between the two sides.
While Israel pledged not to re-arrest Palestinian prisoners who will be released again on the same charges for which they were previously arrested, the Israeli side will not re-arrest Palestinians released to serve the remainder of their sentences.
Palestinian prisoners who will be released will also not be required to sign any document as a condition for their release.
In the second stage, a return to sustainable calm will be declared (a permanent cessation of military operations and all hostile activities) and will come into effect before the exchange of detainees and prisoners between the two sides begins - all remaining Israeli men alive (civilians and soldiers) - in exchange for an agreed number of prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
The bodies and remains of the dead in the possession of both parties will also be exchanged after reaching and identifying them.
The Gaza Strip reconstruction plan will be implemented over a period of 3 to 5 years, including homes, civilian buildings, and civilian infrastructure, and compensating all those affected, under the supervision of a number of countries and organizations, including Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations.
In addition, crossings will be opened and the movement of people and goods will be allowed.
It is noteworthy that a high-level Israeli delegation, including the head of the Israeli foreign intelligence agency (Mossad), David Barnea, and the head of the internal security agency (Shabak), Ronen Bar, arrived in Qatar yesterday to complete the negotiations.
About 100 Israelis are still being held in the devastated Palestinian enclave since October 7, 2023, but some Israeli estimates suggest that half of them have died.
While thousands of Palestinians are languishing in Israeli prisons, some of them sentenced to life imprisonment.
Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.