Israel's Defense Ministry and the IDF have begun preparations to implement the Gaza deal

The Israeli Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun preparations for the implementation of the hostage release agreement as part of the Gaza Strip deal. The press office of the country's ministry said on January 16.

"Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir held a meeting on Thursday to assess the situation <...> and ordered that all ministry capabilities be available to implement the hostage release deal, receive returning hostages and support their families," the ministry said in a post on social network X (formerly Twitter).

It is specified that assistance to the returning hostages and their families will be provided by the MoD's Rehabilitation Unit and the Office of Families and Remembrance. The Department of Design and Construction and the Directorate of Checkpoints at the Ministry of Defense will also be involved in expediting the logistics of the deal's implementation.

Cease-fire: How the agreement between Israel and Hamas will change the situation in the Middle East

In the first phase, 33 captives are to be released - will this be a step towards a settlement

The Gaza ceasefire agreement was announced the day before. It was reported that it will begin on January 19, and in the first phase of 42 days should be released 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The next day, Al Jazeera TV reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a massive strike on the Gaza Strip, and at least 30 Palestinians were killed as a result. Later, the Israeli prime minister's office accused Hamas of backing out of part of the agreements and blackmail attempts. In turn, representatives of the movement said that the IDF struck the place where one of the hostages was.

At the same time, the TV channel Al Arabiya reported that Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas signed a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. It is noted that the deal was on the verge of failure, but helped the intervention of mediators, and after overcoming the differences, the Israeli delegation left the Qatari capital Doha.

The situation in the Middle East escalated in the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.