This Wednesday, Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) reached a ceasefire beginning that would end a devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, as reported by two of the three mediating countries, the United States and Qatar, which has assured that the pact will be signed this Wednesday night and will come into force on Sunday, although the Israeli government has yet to ratify the agreement.
Without knowing its full content, the agreement will guarantee the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners – an operation that Israel has already named Wings of Freedom – and seeks to develop until a definitive end to this war is achieved. Specifically, it consists of three phases of 42 days each. At the moment, only the first is guaranteed, during which 33 Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners. The second will begin to be negotiated when the truce reaches 16 days.
“Over the next six weeks, Israel will negotiate the necessary arrangements to move to phase two, which It is the permanent end of the war […] There are several details to negotiate to move from phase one to two, but the plan says that if the negotiations last more than six weeks, the ceasefire will continue while those continue,” Biden detailed.
One of the participants in the negotiations has shared with EFE the implementation mechanisms agreed upon by the parties in this first phase:
Withdrawal of Israeli troops
Israeli forces will withdraw from populated areas of Gaza, including the disputed Netzarim corridor and Kuwait intersection (north), towards the east, to position itself in a buffer zone with a depth of 700 meters.
In five localized points of the Strip that the draft does not specify, Its depth may extend up to 400 meters further to the south or west, according to the withdrawal maps that Israel delivered this afternoon to the Islamist organization, which had been demanding them for days.
Prisoner exchange
The nine injured and sick Israeli prisoners who are part of the 33 released in the first phase of the agreement, who according to leaks are soldiers, They will leave Gaza in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences.
Besides, Israel to free 1,000 Gazans detained after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 who did not participate in them. Each of the men over 50 years old released in the first phase will be exchanged for three prisoners with life sentences and 27 with other sentences.
The Ethiopian-Israeli hostage Ebra Mangesto and the Bedouin Hisham al Sayedwho had been held hostage in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 respectively, will each be released by 30 Palestinian prisoners and 47 of the Palestinians who were freed in the so-called Shalit agreement of 2011 and detained again later.
Both sides will have to agree on lists of which Palestinian prisoners will be released inside Gaza and which outside.
Shortly before the news was announced, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Guideon Saar, had already indicated that the pact seemed to have been reached. “It is a painful agreement,” He indicated in an interview on Italy’s public broadcaster, adding that Israel will have to release “dangerous terrorists and murderers” in exchange for the release of the hostages still in Gaza.
Philadelphia Corridor
The strip of 14 kilometers that separate Gaza from Egypt It has been one of the most disputed points of the agreement. Israel has agreed, after months of pressure, to gradually withdraw from the area during the first phase according to the maps agreed upon by the parties.
When the last prisoner of the 33 released in the first phase leaves Gaza after 42 days, and the process enters its second sentence, Israeli troops must have completely withdrawn of the corridor before day 50.
Rafah crossing
Israel is committed to preparing this crossing, the main Gaza border crossing and located in the Philadelphia corridor, so that it is prepared to allow the transfer of civilians and wounded. It should be ready when all the women hostages in Gaza, both soldiers and civilians, have been released.
According to the agreement, troops will be able to redeploy around the pass according to the maps agreed upon by the parties, although the draft does not specify deadlines or show said locations.
Daily, 50 wounded militiamen will be able to cross the Rafah crossing with three companions if they receive approval from Israel and Egypt. The crossing will operate as agreed in August 2024 in talks with Egypt.
Sick and injured
“All sick and wounded Palestinian civilians will be able to cross through the Rafah border crossing according to section 12 of the agreement of May 27, 2024,” the draft states, referring to the clause that predicted the departure of these wounded once they were released. all Israeli female soldiers.
Return of displaced Gazans
The draft also refers to clauses 3A and 3B of the May draft: on the seventh day of the agreement the Israeli Army will withdraw from the Rashid coastal road to the east of the Salah al Din road in eastern Gaza, dismantling their military positions and installations. On the 22nd it will be specifically withdrawn from the areas of the Netzarim corridor and the Kuwait intersection.
On the seventh day of the agreement, the displaced Gazans You will be able to return on foot to the northunarmed, across the Rashid Highway. On the 22nd you will be able to return to the north through Salah al Din.
Also after a week of the entry into force of the agreement, vehicles will be able to return north through an inspection in the Netzarim corridor (which divides the Strip into two halves), which will be run by a private company chosen by the mediators and Israel.
humanitarian aid
“The agreed humanitarian aid protocols will be the subject of an agreed humanitarian protocol under the supervision of the mediators,” the draft ends.
According to the leaks of the agreement, it is expected to reach the entry of 600 trucks of humanitarian aid daily, including fuel for electricity generation in hospitals, clinics and bakeries.
What is known about the second and third phase?
As explained by the US president, Joe Biden, at a press conference, the second stage would be “permanent end of war”, according to Biden. It will consist of the distribution of “safe and effective” humanitarian aid in much of Gaza. There will also be carried out repair of health centers and civil supplies and fuel will be allowed to enter the enclave.
The second phase, the most difficult, would include the release of all hostages still alive, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase requires the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding after the devastation caused by the war.
Meanwhile, in the third phase the release of hostages held by Hamas would be completed, although the details will be announced as the progression of the ceasefire is certified. Thus, the agreement promises the gradual release of dozens of hostages held by Hamasthe release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and would allow hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes.
#Release #hostages #withdrawal #troops.. #keys #pact #divided #phases #ceasefire #Gaza
