CAIRO, January 23. /TASS/. The deal between Israel and Hamas to cease fire in Gaza and release prisoners from the enclave holds, even as Israel is committing some infractions, said Zaher Jabarin, head of the Hamas cell in the West Bank.
"The agreement is being honored despite some violations by the occupation forces," Jabarin said in comments posted to Hamas' Telegram channel. "Thanks to the willpower of the [Palestinian] people and the trump cards held by the resistance forces, we are moving in the right direction."
The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7, accompanied by killings of residents of Israeli settlements near the border and taking hostages. Hamas regards the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started delivering strikes on that area and parts of Lebanon and Syria. That was followed by an Israeli ground operation in the enclave.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on January 15 that thanks to the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement to hold a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages held in the enclave. During the 42-day first phase of the deal, Hamas will release 33 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody. The second phase will include efforts to rebuild Gaza.
The ceasefire came into force on January 19. Later the same day, three Israeli women, Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were returned home. Israel released 90 Palestinian women and teenagers from its prisons. Hamas is set to release four more female hostages on January 25.