Israel has agreed Tuesday to a cease-fire and hostage release deal with Hamas that was brokered by Qatari negotiators, the Israeli government has confirmed to Fox News.
The agreement comes as Israel and Hamas are in the 47th day of the war, which began on Oct. 7 when Palestinian terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel.
To date, there have been more than 1,200 Israelis reported killed by Hamas, while the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health is claiming nearly 13,000 civilians have been killed from Israeli military activity in Gaza.
Ahead of the announcement, sources told CNN the deal would allow the release of 50 women and children and lead to a 4-to-5-day pause in fighting. Three Palestinian prisoners would be freed for every civilian hostage that is released, the sources said.
Meanwhile, almost 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza since October 7, a UN agency said. Of those, 930,000 people were sheltering in severely overcrowded UN premises across the enclave as of November 19, it said.
Up to 50% of the buildings in northern Gaza and Gaza governorates have been damaged since October 7 in the Israel-Hamas war, according to an analysis of radar satellite data.
