An agreement signed by Hamas and mediators shared by Israeli media on Thursday night outlined the conditions to end the Gaza War and see the remaining hostages returned after over two years in Hamas captivity.
The document, which includes the signature of Steve Witkoff, stipulated that after US President Donald Trump announces the agreement, Israel will halt “all military operations in Gaza, including aerial and artillery bombardment.”
As part of this stage, Israel will suspend aerial surveillance in areas the IDF has withdrawn from.
The third point of the agreement makes clear that humanitarian aid will flow into the Gaza Strip in a similar style to the January agreement.
The fourth step dictates areas the IDF is expected to withdraw from, with the understanding that they will not return to those locations.
Returning the hostages
Finally, once the IDF has withdrawn, Hamas is expected to release all living and dead hostages within 72 hours after gathering information on each hostage held by the different Palestinian factions. Hamas is expected to share this information with the Red Cross and mediators in exchange for Israel revealing information on deceased Gazan security prisoners.
A Palestinian source involved in the details of the negotiations told KAN News on Thursday that returning all the dead hostages could take months.
Unlike in previous releases, Hamas has agreed to release both living and dead hostages without propaganda ceremonies and or media coverage.
In parallel with the hostage releases, Israel is expected to release an agreed-upon number of Palestinian security prisoners without media coverage.
The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar said in a statement to the international media that "the full implementation of the agreement must be ensured in order to reach a peace that will end the suffering of the Palestinians and the prisoners," Al Jazeera reported.