The Washington Post is reporting that a five-day pause in the fighting has been agreed to between Israel and Hamas. However, it could quickly come unglued if a certain terrorist group opts to violate this purported agreement. Before we get ahead of ourselves, there is no confirmation from Israeli officials. Also, even Biden's national security team members took to social media to say a pause isn't official yet. Someone got ahead of their skis.
The Left has been clamoring for a so-called humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip since it's become a war zone. Israeli forces have cut the Gaza Strip in two, encircled Gaza City, and are slowly wiping out the terror group in the city.
Think headline is misleading.
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) November 19, 2023
Lede: Israel, the United States and Hamas are close to an agreement that would free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza, in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting.
They have been "close to an agreement" for two weeks now
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 19, 2023
During their campaign, the IDF exposed the world to Hamas’ weapons caches, its rocket launchers in schools, and other aspects of its terrorist infrastructure that violate international law. Contrary to the antisemitic, pro-terrorist Left, it’s only Hamas that is committing war crimes in Gaza, shooting at their own people who are trying to flee to safety, among other things. Israel has initiated temporary pauses in the war for weeks, which has permitted scores of Palestinians to move out of the conflict zone. At any rate, here's what the Post reported, but it's not official (via WaPo):
Israel, the United States and Hamas have agreed to a tentative deal that would free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza, in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting.
The release, which could begin within the next several days — barring last-minute hitches — could lead to the first sustained pause in conflict in Gaza, according to people familiar with its provisions.
Under the terms of a detailed, six-page agreement, all parties to the conflict would freeze combat operations for at least five days while an initial 50 or more hostages are released in smaller batches every 24 hours. It was not immediately clear how many of the 239 people believed to be in captivity in Gaza would be released under the deal. Overhead surveillance would monitor movement on the ground to police the pause.
The stop in fighting is also intended to allow a significant increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance, including fuel, to enter the besieged enclave from Egypt.
The outline of a deal was put together during weeks of talks in Doha, Qatar among Israel, the United States and Hamas, indirectly represented by Qatari mediators, according to Arab and other diplomats. But it remained unclear until now that Israel would agree to temporarily pause its offensive in Gaza, provided the conditions were right.
We’ll keep you updated, but these pauses only benefit Hamas. Israeli forces have also found the remains of some hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. Also, there's no word from Israeli officials on this so-called deal.
REMINDER: reports of a temporary ceasefire agreement should not be treated as fact until confirmed by Israeli officials.
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) November 19, 2023
***
UPDATE: And here we have Biden officials denying there's a deal. We're back to square one. Nothing has changed on the diplomatic front. This isn't the first foul-up, either. The Biden administration got embarrassed when they announced there would be pauses in the fighting to permit the safe passage of civilians, which was already in effect and got called out by Israel for jumping the gun.
We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get to a deal. https://t.co/rbSqcqfaKo
— Adrienne Watson (@NSC_Spox) November 19, 2023