Israel, Hamas agree ceasefire and release of 50 hostages held in Gaza

Israel and Hamas agreed a deal on Wednesday to release at least 50 hostages being held in Gaza during a four-day truce that will allow hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks to enter the beseiged territory.

A picture taken shows a billboard in Jerusalem bearing the portraits of Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian militants in the 7 October attack on Israel. AFP - AHMAD GHARABLI

Following weeks of conflict, Israel's Cabinet signed off on the first major diplomatic breakthrough. Before the vote, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear a deal would not mark an end to the war.

The start of the pause in fighting is to be announced in the next 24 hours, although Israel expects to recover the first hostages on Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Army Radio. 

Under the deal, Palestinian militants will release 50 women and children kidnapped during the 7 October Hamas raids, while Israel will free 150 Palestinian women and teenagers.

Humanitarian, medical and fuel trucks will enter all parts of the Gaza Strip.

World reaction

French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna told France Inter radio she hoped eight French citizens would be among the first batch of hostages to be freed.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she had ordered the European Commission to step up aid deliveries to Gaza.

"The European Commission will do its utmost to use this pause for a humanitarian surge to Gaza," she said in a statement, adding: "I wholeheartedly welcome the agreement."

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose administration is based in the occupied West Bank, welcomed the deal between his Islamist Hamas rivals and Israel – while calling for wider solutions to the long-running conflict.

Abbas "appreciated" the Qatari-Egyptian mediation effort, but wanted to see "the implementation of a political solution based on international legitimacy", a social media post by senior Palestinian aide Hussein Al-Sheikh said.

Meanwhile China said it hoped the pause in fighting would "help ease the plight of the humanitarian crisis, de-escalate the conflict and ease tensions".

'Catastrophe'

The World Health Organization has warned that medical services in Gaza had suffered "catastrophic" damage.

The Red Cross said its president had travelled to Qatar to meet with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh on Monday  "to advance humanitarian issues". 

Israel launched attacks on Gaza after Hamas militants crossed the border on 7 October and killed 1,200 Israelis. More than 240 others were taken hostage.

More than 13,300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since Israel started its military operation, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.