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After more than 46 days of Israel's aggression (iron swords) on the Gaza Strip in response to the battle of "Al-Aqsa flood" launched by the resistance on the seventh of last October, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel agreed on a truce between them for four days, which began on November 24, and was extended for two additional days.

Qatar's foreign ministry said an operations room in Doha was monitoring the truce and the release of the hostages and had direct lines of communication with Israel, Hamas' political office in Doha and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Armistice Agreement

The terms of the agreement between Hamas and Israel included the following:

  • A ceasefire from both sides and the cessation of all military actions of the occupation army in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
  • Stop the movement of the Israeli military vehicles penetrating into the Gaza Strip.
  • The release of 50 women and minors under the age of 19 from Hamas prisons, in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and minors held in Israeli prisons.
  • Suspension of air traffic over northern Gaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on each day of the truce.
  • Air traffic was completely halted over the southern Gaza Strip during the entire period of the truce.
  • No one should be subjected to or arrested in all areas of the Gaza Strip.
  • Ensure the free movement of people from north to south along Salah al-Din Street.
  • Trucks loaded with aid and fuel entered the Gaza Strip, and Hamas reported that 200 relief trucks would be brought in daily, in addition to 4 trucks carrying gas and fuel.

Negotiating bodies and mechanisms

Qatar has been the main sponsor of mediation between Hamas, which has a political office in the capital Doha, and Israel through open channels of communication with it.

The United States contributed contacts with Qatar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the truce to agree on it, and Egypt, which has a land border with the Gaza Strip, shared through the Rafah crossing.

Israel published a list of 300 Palestinians who could be released, including 33 women and 267 minors under the age of 19, 49 of whom belonged to Hamas.

First day

On the first day of the truce, November 24, 2023, Hamas released 13 Israeli prisoners, including four children, their mothers, and elderly women, as well as 4 Thais and a Filipino who were farm workers in a settlement.

The Israeli prisoners received the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is in Gaza, and transported them through the Rafah crossing.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said 196 truckloads of humanitarian aid arrived that day, the largest convoy of its kind to reach Gaza since the start of the war. At that time, 129,21 liters of fuel were brought into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, and <> patients were evacuated from the northern Gaza Strip.

Israel released 39 Palestinian women and children who were convicted and detained on charges of possessing weapons and committing acts of violence.

144 Palestinians who were stranded in Egypt were able to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing that day.

The second day

Following Israel's violation of the terms of the truce, Hamas announced on Saturday, November 25, that it would postpone the planned second round of the release of Israeli prisoners until the occupation meets all the conditions of the truce, including the obligation to allow aid trucks to enter northern Gaza.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said that 340 aid trucks had entered Gaza in total since Friday, 268 of them on Saturday, of which only 65 reached the northern Gaza Strip, less than half of what Israel had approved, in addition to the fact that it did not release its detainees based on seniority.

The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, said Israel had not respected the conditions for the release of Palestinian prisoners, not releasing detainees by seniority as expected.

The Israeli military said aid distribution inside the Gaza Strip was carried out by the United Nations and international organizations.

The agreement to release prisoners in Gaza returned to track on the evening of the second day of the truce after resolving the dispute over the sending of aid to the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas handed over the second batch of hostages, released 13 Israelis, 6 women, 7 minors and 4 Thais, to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and handed over 39 prisoners (33 children and 6 women).

It should be noted that the non-Israeli foreigners released by Hamas (15) on the first two days of the truce were not included in the terms of the armistice agreement.

The Israeli military shot at many Palestinians who tried to return to the north on Friday and Saturday, killing one person and wounding dozens, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and Israel justified its action by saying that the northern area is an area of military operations.

Third day

The Qassam Brigades announced that it had handed over 13 Israeli prisoners, 3 Thais and one Russian in the third batch. Israel has released 39 Palestinian prisoners in its prisons.

Thousands of Palestinians began queuing themselves at open markets and aid depots to get supplies that began pouring into the Strip as part of the truce.

Six aid planes arrived at Egypt's al-Arish airport for entry into Gaza, three from Qatar, two from Saudi Arabia and the last from Belgium.

A Qatari diplomatic delegation headed by the Head of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lolwa Al-Khater, from inside the Gaza Strip, supervised the process of bringing in and delivering additional Qatari aid to the Palestinian people.

Fourth day

The Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman said that those released from Israeli prisons in the fourth batch were 30 minors and 3 women, while Hamas released 3 French, Germans, 6 Argentines, in addition to 6 Thais.

The government media office in Gaza announced that the death toll of the Israeli war on Gaza had risen to more than 15,<>, after dozens of bodies were recovered from under the rubble and roads.

Israel announced waiting for Hamas to agree to extend the truce for an additional day in exchange for 10 additional hostages, which Qatar sought to mediate between the two sides, and concluded by extending the truce for two more days on the same terms and releasing 10 Israelis each day for 30 Palestinian women and children.

Source : Al Jazeera + Agencies