On Thursday, On January 16, in Doha (Egypt), an agreement was officially signed between Israel and the Hamas group.
This was reported by URA-Inform with reference to Axios.
It speaks about the release of hostages held in Gaza and the beginning of a ceasefire. Axios cited two well-informed sources as saying that the agreement was signed by representatives of Israel, Qatar and Hamas after several days of intensive negotiations.
US President Joe Biden's top adviser on Middle East issues, Brett McGurk, signed the agreement on behalf of the US. According to the publication's sources, the Israeli government will vote to ratify the agreement no earlier than Saturday evening, January 18.
According to the agreement, the first stage will see the release of 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, men over 50 and the wounded. More than 700 Palestinian prisoners will also be released, including 275 people accused of killing Israelis. In addition, about a thousand Palestinians detained during the war, but not involved in the October 7 attacks, will be released.
Humanitarian aid will also be delivered to the Gaza Strip, in particular 600 trucks with humanitarian aid and 50 fuel tankers, as well as 200,000 tents and 60,000 mobile homes for displaced persons. The agreement stipulates that Qatar, Egypt and the United States will act as guarantors of its implementation.
On the 16th day of the truce, Israel and Hamas will begin negotiations on the second phase of the agreement, which provides for the release of the remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
“While negotiations on the agreement were underway in Doha, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partners – Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir – said they would vote against the deal,” the publication’s article says.
It is worth noting that Trump’s national security adviser Mike Volz said on CNN on Wednesday that the new administration informed Netanyahu that if Hamas refused any part of the agreement, the United States would support Israel. Volz also said that the Trump administration will ensure the demilitarization of Gaza and the destruction of Hamas.
In turn, Trump named an approximate date for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia: details.
