Israel agrees to prisoner swap deal with Hamas

ISTANBUL

The Israeli government agreed to a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian group Hamas early Wednesday.

After around six hours of debates, a deal was approved by the Israeli Cabinet under which 50 hostages consisting of children, mothers and elderly women held by Hamas in Gaza would be released in exchange for a cease-fire lasting for four days, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported.

The pause in fighting would extend an extra day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas.

During the Cabinet meeting, the ministers were informed that the first group of captives would be released on Thursday.

The government said this is the plan for the first phase, to return the captives to their homes. It said the war will continue until all of the goals are achieved: returning all Israeli hostages and the elimination of Hamas.

While the Israeli Broadcasting Authority did not indicate the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in return, the Hebrew Channel 12 said earlier that as part of the agreement, 150 Palestinian prisoners will be released and 300 trucks of humanitarian supplies including fuel will enter daily, in addition to a four-day cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel estimates that at least 239 Israelis are being held by Hamas following its cross-border attack on Oct. 7.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following the attack by Hamas.

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has soared to 14,128, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said Tuesday.

“The victims include over 5,840 children and 3,920 women,” the ministry added in a statement.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat