What is currently known about the Gaza hostage crisis

Both in Tel Aviv and Gaza City, it is 10 a.m. What we now know about the Israel-Hamas agreement is as follows:

• Both Israel and Hamas stated on Wednesday morning that they had reached an agreement for the release of 50 women and children who were being held as hostages in Gaza in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children being released from Israeli prisons during a four-day truce. On Thursday morning, the first prisoner release is anticipated, and the overall number of captives released may increase.

• According to a statement from the prime minister’s office in Israel, for every ten hostages freed, there would be an extra day added to the “lull” in military operations. Although Benjamin Netanyahu said in his speech to his cabinet that the first captives should be released within 48 hours of the deal, the text did not specify when the truce would begin.

• • Despite claims that the airstrike has been more intense in the previous several hours, the Israeli military has said that their assault inside Gaza is still ongoing. “Striking terrorist infrastructure, killing terrorists, and locating weapons” is the IDF’s stated mission. “Israeli air raids have intensified during the last couple of hours across the Gaza Strip,” according to Tareq Abu Azzoum of Al Jazeera, and “conditions remain dire.”

  • After the agreement is announced, Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, will go on a regional trip.

  • A little more information about the detainees Israel has designated as maybe free. The agreement seems to allow for the release of 150, but the Israeli government has identified 300 individuals.

  • According to a BBC examination of the list, “the age range is 14-59 overall, with the majority being 17 or 18 years old.” Of the 300 inmates, 274 are men, making up the bulk.