Israel and Hamas have agreed to a humanitarian pause, allowing 50 civilian hostages in the Gaza Strip to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, according to the government of Qatar.
"The agreement includes the release of 50 civilian women and children hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons," the ministry said.
The major diplomatic breakthrough comes after weeks of conversations between the U.S., Qatar, Israel, Egypt and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Hamas infiltrated southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, including foreigners, and taking about 240 hostages into Gaza.
Separately, Hamas said in a statement that Israel had agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and child prisoners.
Persons:
Israel, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, —, Joanna Tan
Organizations:
Hamas, U.S
Locations:
Tel Aviv, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Qatar, U.S, Egypt, Jerusalem