The Israeli government and Hamas agreed to uphold a brief cease-fire in Gaza to allow for the release of 50 hostages captured during Hamas’s assault last month on Israel and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, Qatar said early Wednesday. Israel and Hamas have been negotiating indirectly for weeks over the roughly 240 hostages taken to Gaza in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel. A brief cease-fire could allow Israel to achieve part of the latter objective before returning to the former. Mr. Netanyahu said earlier on Tuesday night that Israel’s campaign to prevent Hamas from controlling any part of Gaza would continue after the cease-fire. As part of its offensive against Hamas, Israel has cut off electricity to Gaza and blocked the delivery of most fuel, saying it could be diverted for the armed group’s use.

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Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, “, God, ”, Khan Younis, Yousef Masoud, Mohammed Al Khulaifi, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Abir Sultan, Netanyahu, ” Mr, Edward Wong, Aaron Boxerman, Liam Stack, Johnatan Reiss, Maria Abi, Habib Organizations: Hamas, Nasser Medical Hospital, ., The New York Times, Video, Israel, Credit Locations: Old City, Jerusalem, Gaza, Israel, Qatar, Khan, Qatari