Israel, Hamas agree 4-day truce for hostage release and aid into Gaza
Israel green-lit a deal on Wednesday to release some hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a four-day truce in Gaza, Euronews reports.
The agreement offers respite from weeks of savage war, though both parties have vowed to resume fighting as soon it expires.
Israel's "government approved the outline of the first stage of an agreement under which at least 50 hostages - women and children - will be released for four days during which there will be a lull in the fighting," according to a press release sent to AFP by Israel.
The hostage deal is "the right decision", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday evening ahead of a cabinet meeting.
On Wednesday morning, the EU said it "welcomes" the truce in Gaza, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for a "humanitarian boost".
Around 240 people, from Israel and overseas, were kidnapped during Hamas' bloody attack on 7 October.
The Israeli government has been under significant pressure to bring them home, with the Palestinian militant group claiming in late October that 50 hostages had been killed in Israeli airstrikes. Euronews cannot independently verify this figure.
