While some US officials have hailed the truce agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance, there is concern about “an unintended consequence” of allowing journalists to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
A four-day ceasefire comes into effect on Thursday. This follows discussions between Israel, Hamas, Qatar, and the US – as well as various outside groups that tapped their own diplomatic channels, the news outlet, Politico, reported on Wednesday.
The deal includes the release by Hamas of 50 Israeli captives in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children being held in Israeli prisons.
RED CROSS IN GAZA: Hospitals were turned into cemeteries and war fields.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 23, 2023
The Politico report said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, faced immense pressure from hostage families and a restless nation, to reach this point in the current conflict.
The deal, the report said, may still fall apart, with US officials insisting nothing is really final until the hostages are brought home and the guns go silent.
However, it added, the US administration remains wary about Netanyahu’s endgame with an unnamed senior official reportedly saying “There was no sense that the pause would turn into a lengthier ceasefire.”
NETANYAHU: We hope to get the hostages out, but there are challenges.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 23, 2023
And there was some concern in the administration about an unintended consequence of the pause: “That it would allow journalists broader access to Gaza and the opportunity to further illuminate the devastation there and turn public opinion on Israel”, the report said.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel has, thus far, killed over 14,532 Palestinians, including nearly 6,000 children. 7,000 Palestinians are missing, including more than 4,700 women and children.
Gaza has been under a tight Israeli military siege since 2007, following a democratic election in occupied Palestine, the results of which were rejected by Tel Aviv and Washington.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
