However, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, assured government ministers that this short break is only tactical, promising to resume the bombardment after the truce expires.

Israel has reached a temporary deal with Hamas which will bring a four day pause to fighting after the devastating bombardment of Palestine, by Israel, which has been ongoing for the last six weeks.

Hamas has agreed to release 50 civilian women and children from the 237 captives, and Israel has agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and children from its prisons. There are currently 3,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons who have been arrested since October 7th (there were already 5,200 before this date), including 145 children and 37 journalists. Israel has stated that it is willing to extend the truce beyond the four day period, potentially adding a day to the pause for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas. It’s currently unclear if Israel will release any additional prisoners if the truce is extended.

The truce was mediated by Qatar, a nation that has been negotiating with both Israel and Hamas, as well as international powers such as the United States, which bolsters the Israeli military with $3.8 billion in military aid annually. Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives passed a Republican plan to provide a further $14.3 billion to Israel, funding the lethal bombardment of Palestine. The truce is not yet in effect, Qatar has stated that the beginning time of the truce will be declared within 24 hours.

An end to the violence in Palestine which has resulted in Israel killing over 11,000* Palestinians, two thirds of whom are women and children, is essential, but Israel has been clear that this is only a tactical break to further war efforts, not an end to violence. “We are at war, and we will continue the war,” Mr Netanyahu stated during a Cabinet meeting before this morning’s vote. “We will continue until we achieve all our goals.” Israel’s Prime Minister also stressed that Israeli intelligence efforts will continue in Palestine, in order to prepare the army for the next stage of the attack. This announcement was made as reports confirmed that Israeli soldiers stormed hospitals and refugee camps.

*11,078 is the figure reported by The Health Ministry in Gaza. However, it is predicted to be much higher than this as this was also the official figure on 10/11/23 and the Ministry stated that it is “no longer able to count the names and tally the statistics” due to the level of death, destruction of buildings and break down of communication lines.

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