The general secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein El-Sheikh, highlighted on his X account that Abbas and the Palestinian leaders welcomed the agreement.

El-Sheikh thanked Qatar and Egypt for the mediation and reiterated the call for Israel to stop its aggression against Gaza, where more than 14,000 deaths have been reported since October 7th. He also called for the implementation of a political solution based on international standards leading to the end of the occupation and the creation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State.

Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on Wednesday a four-day truce. As part of the agreement, which will come into force the next 24 hours, Hamas will release fifty Israeli women and minors, and in return Israel will release a minimum of 150 Palestinian prisoners, women and children.

The pause will be extended by an additional 24 hours for every 10 additional people released by the Palestinian militia, according to a statement from the Israeli executive.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government ratified the arrangement after heated debates. According to the Israeli press, only three out of 38 members of the Government voted against the cease-fire: Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and two members of his far-right party.

Hamas, who controls the Gaza Strip, also confirmed the truce and exchange and stated that Israel would halt all military actions in the Strip. Israel will also allow hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian, medical aid and fuel to enter the territory.

During that time, Israeli drones will cease flying over the south of the Strip, while overflights in the north will stop for six hours a day. That was a demand made by Hamas in order to prevent the IDF from detecting the movement of the militants as they transfer the prisoners.

jrr/llp/oda/rob