After six long hours of debate, the Israeli government finally approved an initial cease-fire agreement with Hamas on Wednesday, November 22, brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The four-day pause will begin at 10 am on Thursday, said Hamas. It will allow for the release of 50 women and children held hostage by the Islamist movement, in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held prisoner in Israel. The break in the fighting could also be extended in exchange for further releases.
Three supremacist Israeli ministers voted against the agreement, according to the Israeli press, while the other three ended up supporting it – although they first drew attention to Israel's fragility in the wake of the Hamas attack on October 7. They blamed top military officials for the debacle, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the former generals from the opposition who joined his war cabinet. All are accused of having allowed Hamas to flourish for two decades, and of fighting today with too much restraint.
Senior security officials, recognizing a moral debt to the families of the estimated 240 Israeli and foreign hostages, recommended the break in the fighting, according to press reports. A senior US official, who anticipated the release of "more than 50" people, including binationals, said the pause of several days will give Hamas time to identify and regroup the other women and children.
Hamas is demanding that Israeli drones leave the skies over Gaza, leaving it free not only to regroup but also to find the hostages with whom it has lost contact. It is also demanding the delivery of humanitarian aid and the release of more Palestinian prisoners.
Anxious to see international pressure increase during the truce, Netanyahu made it clear that the military campaign would shortly resume and would ratchet up in force: "There is nonsense out there suggesting that we will halt the war after the cease-fire to return the hostages," he said as early as Tuesday. "I would like to make it clear. We are at war, and we will continue the war until we achieve all our goals: eliminate Hamas, return all the hostages and missing, and guarantee that there will be no threat to Israel in Gaza," he declared.
Qatar, the driving force behind the negotiations, hoped that the talks would lead to "a comprehensive and sustainable agreement that will put an end to the war." The small Gulf emirate has been criticized since the start of the conflict for considering Israel "solely responsible" for the escalation that began on October 7 with the Hamas attack, while also strongly condemning the hostage-taking. Qatar, which hosts senior Hamas politicians on its soil, established contact with Washington from day one.
You have 75% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.