People wave Palestinian flags as they attend a peaceful march in support of the Palestinian people, in Johannesburg, South Africa, 15 October 2023. Protesters took to the streets of Johannesburg, condemning Israel for the bombings in Gaza as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated. Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died after the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 07 October 2023. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day ceasefire.
The agreement comes after talks on a Qatar-mediated deal that continued into the early hours of Wednesday morning, with Israeli media reporting heated exchanges between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government ministers.
Only three of the 38 members of the Cabinet voted against the truce – National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other members of his far-right political party, according to Al Jazeera.
As part of the agreement, at least 50 of the hostages held in Gaza will be released and in return, 150 Palestinian women and children will be freed from Israeli jails during the truce.
The lull in Israeli military operations would be extended for an additional day for more hostages to be released.
Netanyahu told his cabinet it had been difficult to reach the agreement, but it was the right decision.
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Netanyahu said the war in Gaza will continue despite the agreement, promising to press on after the pause in fighting until Hamas is destroyed.
Hamas has welcomed the humanitarian truce.
The deal brokered by Qatar includes a complete ceasefire on the ground and a pause in Israeli airstrikes.
It also includes hundreds of trucks of humanitarian, relief and medical aid and fuel to be brought to all areas of the Gaza Strip.
More than 13,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched reprisal attacks vowing to wipe out Hamas following the 7 October attack on Israel.
Meanwhile, the South African Parliament has resolved the South African embassy in Tel Aviv should remain closed until Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Gaza, while Israel should not be allowed to maintain an embassy in this country.
On Monday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to South Africa, Eliav Belotserkovsky, for consultations following what it called the “latest statements from South Africa”.
The move to recall Belotserkovsky came after he was démarched by the government over his remarks about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday backed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) motion to sever ties with Israel adding two conditions to the suspension.
EFF leader Julius Malema said he had no objections to the condition set by the ANC.
“We want to applaud the ANC for its maturity on this matter. It doesn’t matter politically we can disagree.”
However, DA, IFP, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), who voted against the motion, warned the move is counterintuitive and will exclude South Africa from peace talks.
248 MPs voted for the motion, while 91 voted against it.
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