Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for a four-day halt to the devastating war in Gaza, accompanied by the release of dozens of hostages held by the militant group in return for Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel, mediators said Wednesday.
Fifty hostages will be released in stages, in exchange for what Hamas said would be 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The truce marks the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel ignited a war that has devastated vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank and raised fears of a wider conflict across the Middle East.
Qatar’s prime minister and top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said he hoped the deal would eventually lead to a permanent cease-fire and “serious talks” on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of 300 prisoners eligible for release as part of the deal, mainly teenagers detained over the past year for rock-throwing and other minor offenses.
The war erupted in early October, when several thousand Hamas militants broke through Israel’s formidable defenses and poured into the south, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing scores more.
Families of the hostages — who include babies and toddlers, women and children, and people in their 80s with health issues — have staged mass demonstrations and pressured the government to bring them home.
Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East have been drawn into the war, with Lebanon’s Hezbollah trading fire with Israel on a daily basis along the border and Yemen’s Houthi rebels launching drones and missiles as well as seizing an Israeli-linked cargo ship.
The original article contains 1,252 words, the summary contains 217 words. Saved 83%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
You did a good job, bot, but you missed this one, which I feel is important
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would resume the war after the truce and keep fighting “until we achieve all our goals,” including the destruction of Hamas’ fighting and governing abilities and the return of all hostages.