DOHA: Key mediator Qatar said on Wednesday that 33 Israeli prisoners held by Hamas in Gaza would be released in the first stage of the ceasefire deal.
Israel said it would release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in the first stage of the agreement.
Below are the key details of the initial phase of the deal.
Prisoner swap
Thirty-three Israeli prisoners will be released in the first, 42-day phase of the agreement that could become a “permanent ceasefire”, said Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Those first released would be “civilian women and female recruits, as well as children, elderly people... civilian ill people and wounded”, he said.
The 33 are among the 94 Israeli prisoners held in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023. The total includes 34 captives the Israeli military has declared dead.
An Israeli spokesman said on Tuesday Israel was “prepared to pay a heavy price -- in the hundreds” in exchange for the 33 Israelis.
Israel is to release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including those with “lengthy sentences”.
Israeli positions in Gaza
During the initial, 42-day ceasefire Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza and remain positioned on its border to “allow for the swap of prisoners, as well as the swap of remains and the return of the displaced people”, Qatar’s prime minister said.
Negotiations for a second phase would commence on the “16th day” after the first phase’s implementation.
Buffer zone
Israeli media reported that under the proposed deal, Israel would maintain a buffer zone within Gaza during the first phase.
Israeli forces were expected to remain up to “800 metres inside Gaza stretching from Rafah in the south to Beit Hanun in the north”.
Israeli forces would not fully withdraw from Gaza until all prisoners are returned.
Israel is to allow the movement of residents from southern Gaza to the north.
Monitoring
Joint mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt will monitor the ceasefire deal through a body based in Cairo.
There is “a clear mechanism to negotiate phases two and three”, Sheikh Mohammed added.
Under the arrangements outlined by Qatar, the details of phases two and three will be “finalised” during the implementation of phase one.
Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2025