Israel today unveiled details of the Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for Hamas releasing 50 of the hostages it is holding in the Gaza Strip.
The list released by the Justice Department includes 300 prisoners Israel has agreed to release as part of the deal in exchange for the release of 50 Hamas hostages and a four-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The purpose of publishing the details of the prisoners appears to be to enable legal appeals to be made at the last minute.
Hamas is estimated to be holding 237 Israeli hostages, despite saying dozens of them were killed in IDF shelling.
During the ceasefire, Israel and Hamas will allow the Red Cross access to the hostages who remain in Gaza. The agreement stipulates that the Red Cross will also be allowed to provide medical care to the hostages, according to Israeli officials.
On Thursday or Friday the first exchange of hostages and prisoners
The first exchange of hostages and prisoners will take place on Thursday or Friday.
Israel plans to give Hamas an “incentive” to release all the hostages it is holding, offering to extend the truce by an extra day for every 10 hostages released. With Hamas expressing reservations that the IDF would use drones to gather critical intelligence during the ceasefire, Israel agreed to not fly drones for six hours each day for the duration of the deal.
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The most crucial point, however, is the fact that the Israelis will allow about 300 trucks carrying humanitarian aid – including fuel – to pass through the Gaza Strip. It has been made clear, however, that it will not allow Palestinians to return to their homes in Northern Gaza during this period.
“The war will continue”
However, the Minister of Defense of Israel, Yoav Gallad, repeated at dawn what the Prime Minister of the country, Benjamin Netanyahu, had announced, that “the agreement does not mean that the war will stop”. That is, after the ceasefire, “the IDF, the Shin Bet and all forces will continue with all their might” to pressure Hamas. After all, Israel has set clear objectives that it wants to achieve with the war: To free all the hostages held by Hamas – and not a part of them – and to dissolve all the military and political capabilities of Hamas inside the Gaza Strip. Before entering the cabinet meeting, Benjamin Netanyahu stated: “Let me make this clear. We are at war and we will continue the war. Israel will not stop until it achieves its goals, which are the destruction of Hamas, the return of all our hostages, and the assurance that Gaza is no longer a threat to Israel”.
