On the night of Tuesday, Hamas’s top political leader Ismail Haniyeh stated that Israel and Hamas are approaching a cease-fire. It will concern a prisoner exchange of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. There is talk of releasing 50 Israeli women and children over a period of five days. Qatar says the negotiations are in the final stages. The US president states that an agreement is “very close”. Israel’s prime minister reports progress in the hostage situation. Talks are now underway between Hamas and Israel that could lead to a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the parties are in the final phase of negotiations, and that this is the “closest they have been to a ceasefire”. Al Jaazera reports the same. The terms of a temporary ceasefire would include the release of Israeli women and children in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons. Several Israeli media on Tuesday morning quoted Israeli officials as saying that a hostage deal in exchange for a ceasefire is imminent. According to the newspaper Times of Israel, the Israeli war cabinet will meet at 6 p.m., the security cabinet at 19 and the entire government at 20 local time this evening to discuss and approve an agreement. (Israel is one hour ahead of Norway in time.) The announcement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Photo: Screenshot from X An unnamed American official told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday afternoon that there is a tentative agreement, but that nothing is final until there is agreement on everything. – There is still a lot of work to be done, the approval is still pending, the official told Reuters. Sources close to the Biden administration say that initially there is talk of releasing around 50 Israeli women and children in batches from the Gaza Strip. The Jerusalem Post writes on Tuesday afternoon that it will be about 40 children and 13 women. In exchange for this, Israel must be willing to agree to a five-day ceasefire, as well as send the necessary emergency aid, food supplies and fuel to Gaza. And that 150 Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under strong pressure to release the 237 hostages who are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Ariel Schalit / AP “Few hours remain” Abdelhamid Siyam, professor at Rutgers University, tells Al Jazeera that the agreement will probably be announced from Doha “within the next 12 hours”. He believes that what remains now is to clarify the actual length of the ceasefire, the number of hostages to be released and how much humanitarian aid will be allowed into Gaza, especially in terms of fuel. He further says that the break will probably last between three and five days. Qatar is central In the statement from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, he says nothing about how long the ceasefire may last, nor how many hostages may have to be released. But Hamas has sent its response to a draft agreement to officials in Qatar, according to Haniyeh. According to Reuters, Ismail Haniyeh is said to have said that Hamas and Israel are approaching a ceasefire in a statement sent to them via an aide, and according to AFP on the Telegram messaging service. Photo: AP Qatar has been central to the diplomacy of the war between Israel and Hamas. Large parts of the Hamas leadership are also in the country. Netanyahu reports progress Israel’s government has said several times that it will not discuss a ceasefire until all the hostages are released. But on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that something is afoot. – There is progress. I can’t say much now, but I hope there will be good news soon, Netanyahu told a group of soldiers when he visited a military base in northern Israel, writes the Reuters news agency. At least 237 civilians and soldiers are being held captive by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip after Hamas soldiers attacked southern Israel on 7 October. Five have been released. Netanyahu met several of the hostages’ families again on Monday evening. Getting the hostages home safely is a “sacred mission,” he told the families. – We will not rest until we have completed the mission, Netanyahu said according to Haaretz. The country’s security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has, however, issued a written statement in which he warns against an agreement between Hamas and Israel, writes the newspaper Times of Israel. Ben-Gvir leads the ultra-nationalist party Jödisk Makt and is highly controversial, also within Israel. He writes that all the talk about an agreement “worries him deeply”. – We are not being told the truth and the rumors are that Israel is going to make a big mistake. Israel may be close to agreeing to an agreement, which could be a disaster, writes the security minister. “Closer than ever” US President Joe Biden says on Tuesday that an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages is approaching. – We have been working to get the hostages out for weeks. Now we are very, very close. But nothing is finished until everything is finished. And then we can say more, but it looks promising right now, the president told a group of reporters at the White House. There are several American citizens among the hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. The president says he hopes they can be brought home soon. The United States will be central to the efforts to establish the agreement together with Qatar. No Norwegians out Also on the night of Tuesday, new attacks were reported in the 46th day of the war. 17 people were killed in an Israeli air strike against the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The IDF has not yet commented on the attack. No Norwegian citizens may leave Gaza on Tuesday. It appears on Tuesday’s evacuation list, reports Dagbladet. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms this information to NTB. A total of 212 Norwegian citizens have escaped from the war-torn area through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt in recent days. Most of these are now in Norway. There are still just under 60 people with connections to Norway in the Gaza Strip, according to the Foreign Ministry.
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