On the eve of the ceasefire, Israeli attacks kill 23 people in Gaza

On the eve of the ceasefire, Israeli attacks kill 23 people in Gaza

The Israeli prime minister speaks of a delay on the part of Hamas and Qatar in releasing the names of the hostages to be released; humanitarian organizations mobilize to provide aid and foresee a scenario of chaos Even with a ceasefire in sight, Israeli attacks on Gaza continued this Saturday (18/01). The local Ministry of Health reported that 23 bodies were taken to hospitals, victims of the bombing.

On Friday, the Palestinian Emergency Civil Service reported that 116 Palestinians, nearly 60 of them women and children, had been killed in Gaza since the deal was announced on Wednesday, ahead of its approval on Saturday by the Israeli government.

“What is this truce that kills us hours before it begins?” Abdallah Al-Aqad, brother of a woman killed in an air strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, told the Associated Press.

The Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen towards Israel on Saturday. Houthi rebels, who control much of Yemen, have announced they will fight “military violations or escalation” by Israel during the ceasefire period.

Delay in the hostage list

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned late Saturday afternoon that the ceasefire in Gaza can only continue if he receives the list with the names of the hostages to be released by Hamas, as agreed. The truce in the 15-month war will begin this Sunday at 8:30 am local time.

The Palestinian extremist group promised to communicate the names of these prisoners to the mediator of the agreement, Qatar, which did not happen at the agreed time, according to the Israeli government, which is awaiting confirmation on who is still alive.

Since the ratification of the agreement was announced in the early hours of Saturday, the families of the hostages held in Gaza have prepared to listen to their loved ones, and the Palestinians have organized themselves to welcome the freed family members.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from their homes by Israeli forces are now hoping to return to what remains of their homes or recognize bodies in the rubble. Humanitarian groups are also working together to provide aid.

The ceasefire agreement calls for hostages held in Gaza to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in several stages.

How hostage exchanges are planned

In the first phase, 33 hostages in Gaza will be released over six weeks in exchange for 737 prisoners held by Israel. The Israeli Ministry of Justice has published a list of prisoners: in this first phase all minors under 19 and all women are included.

The first exchange is expected to begin this Sunday at 4pm. The agreement provides for the return of three women hostages alive. On the seventh day, four, and the rest in the following five weeks.

During each exchange, Palestinian prisoners will be released by Israel after the hostages arrive safely.

1,167 Gaza residents not involved in the October 7, 2023 attacks that started the war will also be released.

All Gaza women and children under 19 detained by Israel will be released during the first phase.

The other hostages in Gaza, including male soldiers, will be covered in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first.

Even during the first phase of the ceasefire, the presence of Israeli troops is expected to be limited to a buffer zone about a kilometer wide inside Gaza, along its borders with Israel.

This will allow many displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, such as in Gaza City and the largely isolated and devastated north.

With most of Gaza’s population sheltered in huge, squalid tent cities, Palestinians are desperate to return to their homes, although many have been destroyed or severely damaged.

Humanitarian aid

Egypt has inspected the Rafah crossing with Gaza and a logistics area where about 600 humanitarian trucks are parked, local officials said.

The authorities also visited hospitals and medical facilities in North Sinai that are preparing to receive the wounded from Gaza.

Aid agencies in Gaza are bracing for a chaotic scene this week as hundreds of thousands of people try to return to their homes.

Last May, Israel took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in an operation that disrupted aid deliveries.

According to the ceasefire agreement, in the first phase of the plan the Rafah crossing will be opened, but the Israeli army will not withdraw from there.

“Precarious” agreement.

For Mairav ​​Zonszein, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, the ceasefire scheduled for tomorrow is very “precarious” and the United States will play an important role in ensuring its maintenance.

“We would like it to come into force tomorrow morning. It would be a big relief,” he told DW.

Netanyahu said that both US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office this Monday (20/01), and Joe Biden, have given their approval for Israel to return to fighting in Gaza if the next stages of the agreement do not they will be satisfied.

Netanyahu said the first phase of the truce would be temporary, adding: “If we have to fight again, we will do so in new and vigorous ways.”

“I hope that Trump, having invested so much political capital in making a deal, will also be involved in maintaining it,” Mairav ​​Zonszein said.

sf (AP, DW)

Source: Terra

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