Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday that an agreement has been reached with Hamas to release additional hostages starting Thursday, while also allowing Palestinians to return to the northern part of the Gaza strip starting Monday morning.
Qatar helped broker the deal, which was expected to ease the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
“After robust and determined negotiations led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Hamas has withdrawn and will carry out an additional phase of hostage taking on Thursday,” Netanyahu’s office said. “As part of this phase, Israeli citizen Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger and an additional hostage will be released.”
The statement also noted that three additional hostages will be released on Saturday as part of the agreement.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and Hamas reached an agreement for the release of additional hostages and for Palestinians to return to the northern part of the Gaza Strip. (Getty Images)
Israel confirmed that Hamas handed over a list specifying the condition of the hostages expected to be released in the first phase. Local media also reported the list specified the number of living and dead hostages, although names were not included.
Israeli officials claim that most of the 26 remaining hostages are alive, which coincides with the list provided by Hamas.
Netanyahu’s office also said Israel will allow Palestinians to return to the northern part of the Gaza Strip beginning Monday morning under the deal with Hamas.
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Hamas is believed to be holding 26 hostages as of Sunday. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo)
Netanyahu reiterated that Israel will not tolerate any violation of the agreement between the two sides, adding that he will continue to push for the return of all hostages, dead or alive.
Likewise, the White House released a statement on Sunday afternoon saying the settlement between Israel and Lebanon is being followed by the US and will remain in effect until February 18, 2025.
“The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023,” the statement said.
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President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Estate on July 26. (Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO) / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images)
The agreement between Israel and Hamas comes after the former accused the latter of changing the order of hostages it had planned to release. As a result, Israeli forces blocked thousands of Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza.
Israeli forces also announced Friday that they would not withdraw from southern Lebanon as the ceasefire requires until the Lebanese government fully implements its own responsibilities. Under the agreement, both groups were expected to shoot on Sunday.
“IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon fired warning shots to clear threats in a number of areas where suspects were identified approaching the forces,” the IDF previously wrote in a statement.
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President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in July. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The disputes came just afterward President Donald Trump called on Egypt and Jordan to accept refugees from Gaza to “clean up” the region.
“I would like Egypt to take people,” Trump said. “You’re probably talking about a million and a half people, and we’re cleaning that whole thing up and saying, ‘You know what, it’s over.'”
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Trump said he applauded Jordan for accepting Palestinian refugees, but told the king: “I would like you to accept more, because now I look at the entire Gaza Strip, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess .”
Anders Hagstrom of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
