On Wednesday, it was announced that the warring parties had agreed on a ceasefire, but several disagreements remained. During the night to Saturday, the Israeli government finally gave the green light.
The ceasefire will come into effect a few hours earlier than initially stated – already at half past nine on Sunday morning local time, corresponding to half past eight Swedish time, according to a statement from mediating Qatar.
"We advise residents to exercise extreme caution and await directives from official sources," adds Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, in his social media post.
The first phase of the ceasefire is expected to last 42 days, six weeks, during which time further negotiations are planned to take place on two subsequent phases. The goal is to achieve a permanent end to the war, or a "sustainable calm" as stated in the agreement.
Women and Young People
Three people will be released from Hamas captivity when the ceasefire takes effect. It is reported to be three women. Then, an additional 30 people from the hostages will be released in stages.
In exchange, hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel will be freed. A total of over 730 people are to be released during the first six weeks, according to a list of names published by the Israeli Justice Department. This includes several members of the terrorist-designated Hamas and Islamic Jihad, some of whom have been sentenced to life imprisonment for, among other things, murder.
Egypt, however, claims that more than 1,890 Palestinians will be released during the first part of the ceasefire.
Trucks to Gaza
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty states that 600 trucks, including 50 loaded with fuel, will be able to pass into Gaza daily when the ceasefire begins. Abdelatty further says that "we hope that 300 trucks will go to the northern part of the Gaza Strip”.
Israeli forces will remain in Gaza but will gradually withdraw. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be able to return to their war-torn homes.
Besides final negotiations, which specifically dealt with which hostages and prisoners would be released, Netanyahu has held talks with right-wing extremist parties that make up his government's base.
Several ministers, including the ultra-nationalist Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have opposed the ceasefire and threatened to resign. On Saturday evening, Ben-Gvir announced that he was leaving the government, according to Israeli media.
During the terrorist-designated Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, around 250 people, mostly Israelis, were taken hostage and brought to Gaza. Some of them are still being held by Hamas and other armed extremist groups that participated in the attack.
During a week-long ceasefire in November 2023, over 100 hostages were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners. A few more Israelis have been freed by the country's military.
Currently, it is estimated that nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza. However, it is unclear how many of them are still alive.
More than 46,700 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed since the start of the war, according to health authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
During the same period, nearly 1,600 Israelis have been killed, around 1,200 of them during the October 7 attack, according to Israeli authorities.
Almost the entire population of Gaza is displaced within the territory's borders, according to UN estimates. Many of them have been forced to flee multiple times. Large parts of Gaza's infrastructure lie in ruins.
