JERUSALEM: The Zionist entity and Hamas said Wednesday they had agreed on a four-day truce in the Gaza war during which the Palestinian group would free at least 50 of the captives they took in their deadly Oct 7 attack. In turn, the Zionist entity would release at least 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow more humanitarian aid into the coastal territory after more than six weeks of bombardment, heavy fighting and crippling siege.

The hostages to be freed are women and children, and the Palestinian prisoners are women and detainees aged 18 and younger. The process could begin Thursday at 10 am (0800 GMT) according to regional media reports. The deal — negotiated with Qatar, the United States and Egypt — is the first major breakthrough in Gaza’s bloodiest ever war that has killed thousands and left much of the territory in ruins.

The head of the United Nations children’s agency on Wednesday called the besieged Gaza Strip “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” and said that the hard-won truce deal was not enough to save their lives. UNICEF’s executive director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council that over 5,300 children have been killed in Gaza since Oct 7, accounting for 40 percent of the deaths.

“This is unprecedented,” said Russell, who had just returned from a trip to southern Gaza. “I am haunted by what I saw and heard.” Russell welcomed a deal reached Wednesday by the Zionist entity and Hamas to free captives and pause ferocious fighting and bombardment in Gaza. But Russell said that a pause is not enough and called for “an urgent humanitarian ceasefire to immediately put a stop to this carnage.”

“For children to survive..., for humanitarian workers to stay and effectively deliver..., humanitarian pauses are simply not enough,” she said. Russell said that an additional 1,200 children are believed to remain under the rubble of bombed-out buildings or are otherwise unaccounted for. “In addition to bombs, rockets, and gunfire, Gaza’s children are at extreme risk from catastrophic living conditions,” Russell added. “One million children — or all children inside the territory — are now food insecure, facing what could soon become a catastrophic nutrition crisis.”

UNICEF estimates that acute malnutrition in children could increase by nearly 30 percent in Gaza over the next months. Also addressing the Security Council, the head of the United Nations Population Fund, Natalia Kanem, drew attention to the plight of Gaza’s pregnant women, with some 5,500 expected to deliver babies under appalling conditions in the coming month. “At a moment when new life is beginning, what should be a moment of joy is overshadowed by death and destruction, horror and fear,” said Kanem.

Although it promises a truce that could be extended if more captives are freed, the Zionist entity has vowed to stick to its war aim of destroying Hamas and rescuing all 240 captives held in the war zone. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose cabinet approved the truce after a marathon overnight session, told his ministers that this was a “difficult decision but it’s a right decision”. The cabinet’s sign-off was one of the last hurdles after what one US official described as five “extremely excruciating” weeks of talks.

Hamas welcomed the “humanitarian truce” and an official of the Islamist group told AFP that “the resistance is committed to the truce as long as the occupation honors it”. The Zionist entity’s major bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza has killed 14,100 people, thousands of them children. The Zionist entity said that, to facilitate the captives’ release, it would initiate a four-day “pause” in its air assault of Gaza.

If the initial phase works, a subsequent phase could see 150 more Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for 50 more hostages, said a Zionist government document naming 300 eligible prisoners. For every 10 additional hostages released, there would be an extra day’s “pause” in fighting, the document said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad group sources earlier told AFP the truce would apply to ground operations as well as air operations over southern Gaza.

The negotiations have involved the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Zionist entity’s Mossad, Egyptian intelligence and leaders in Doha, Cairo, Washington, Gaza and the Zionist entity. A senior US official said three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, were among the 50 earmarked for staggered release from Thursday.

Families on both sides grappled with a lack of clarity over how the releases would unfold. The Zionist entity’s list of eligible Palestinian prisoners included 33 women and 123 detainees under 18. Amani Sarahneh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group, said “we don’t know who will be freed first, and that’s a problem for us in responding to the families”. Among the Palestinians slated for release is Shrouq Dwayyat, convicted of attempted murder in a 2015 knife attack. Her mother Sameera Dwayyat said “I had hoped that she would come out in a deal” but added that her relief was tempered by “great pain in my heart” over the dead children in Gaza.

Large parts of Gaza have been flattened by thousands of air strikes, and the territory faces shortages of food, water and fuel. For now, the Zionist entity appeared to be pushing on with its offensive in northern Gaza, with witnesses reporting dawn strikes on Kamal Adwan hospital and nearby homes. Medical workers treated bloodied, dust-covered survivors as other residents fled through debris-strewn streets to safety.

The Hamas-run government said 200 people had been killed by Zionist forces in the past 24 hours. “The people are really suffering,” Gaza resident Hamza Abdel Razeq said, voicing hope for some respite during a truce: “I believe it will pave the way for longer truces or even a total ceasefire.” The truce deal was welcomed by countries including Britain, China, France, Germany, Jordan and Egypt whose President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s office touted the “success” of the mediation.

The Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank also hailed the deal and reiterated its call for “a comprehensive cessation of the Israeli aggression” and more aid deliveries. Ahead of the Zionist cabinet vote, Netanyahu had faced criticism from within his rightwing coalition, where some argued the deal gave too much to the Palestinian militants.

Hardline Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said it should include the release of Zionist soldiers also taken by Hamas. But with dozens of families in the Zionist entity desperate to have their loved ones returned home, and the public gripped by the captives’ fate, the government ultimately set aside any misgivings. The Zionist entity’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed that “immediately after we have exhausted this phase”, military operations would “continue in full force”. – AFP