Israel agrees to temporary Gaza cease-fire during Ramadan, passover
Scores of displaced Palestinians walk along a road in the Saftawi area of Jabalia, as they leave areas near Gaza City where they had taken refuge, toward the further northern part of the Gaza Strip, on January 19, 2025 (AFP Photo)
Israel said Sunday that it agreed to a temporary cease-fire in the Gaza Strip during Ramadan and Passover, following a proposal from U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, hours after the first phase of a ceasefire was set to expire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that half of the hostages in Gaza, dead and alive, will be released, and the remaining captives will be freed once a permanent cease-fire is reached.
It said Witkoff proposed extending the cease-fire after determining that additional time was needed for negotiations on a permanent truce.
The statement said the plan gives Israel the right to resume the war after 42 days if talks do not progress and claimed that Israel has accepted the proposal to free prisoners but Hamas has not yet accepted.
It emphasized that if Hamas changed its position and accepted the plan proposed by Witkoff, Israel would immediately begin negotiations on the details of the second phase.
Hamas, Egyptian and Qatari mediators, and Witkoff have yet to comment on Israel’s statement.
The Palestinian resistance group’s spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, reaffirmed earlier in a statement to Anadolu its “commitment to implementing all phases of the agreement.”
A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place since January, pausing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 48,360 victims, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
