Israeli government approves plan to return hostages as part of deal

In Israel confirmed the beginning of the implementation of the points of the agreement with the Palestinian movement Hamas on Gaza on the release of hostages and ceasefire. This was reported in the office of the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 18.

"The government has approved the hostage return plan. The hostage release plan will go into effect on Sunday, January 19," the chancellery said in an X (former Twitter) message.

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

On the eve of the Israeli portal Walla learned that the Israeli government, following a six-hour meeting, approved an agreement with the Palestinian movement Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Palestinian hostages.

At the same time, The Jerusalem Post reported that in the first stage, in exchange for 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages - children, women (including military), men over 50 years old and "humanitarian hostages." In addition, representatives of the Palestinian movement and Israel signed the final version of the deal in the Qatari capital Doha.

The Gaza ceasefire agreement became known on January 15. The next day, the Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began preparations for the implementation of the agreement. In particular, the State Defense Ministry's Directorate of Checkpoints and the Design Department will be involved in the implementation of the deal in order to speed up logistics.

At the same time, the IDF launched a massive strike on Gaza that killed at least 30 Palestinians. Netanyahu's office later accused Hamas of attempting blackmail and backing out of part of the agreements. The movement, in turn, said that the Israeli army attacked the place where one of the hostages was held.

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