A source familiar with the matter speaking to Elior Levy of Kann News said today (Wednesday) that the Hamas leadership has decided to move forward with the hostage deal, and that it might be announced as soon as tomorrow.
According to the source, a "decisive" meeting of the Hamas leadership summed up the points of the deal and resolved matters of dispute. The estimate now is that the agreement will be declared in force by tomorrow, and that it will begin to be implemented within 24-48 of that declaration.
Meanwhile, the IDF is continuing to operate in force in the Gaza Strip until the ceasefire is in effect. The 162nd Division has replaced the Gaza Division in operating in the northern Gaza Strip, and the IDF Spokesperson in Arabic issued an evacuation notice for the D5 bloc in Jebaliya following rocket fire from that area.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told his Italian counterpart and members of the press that a Palestinian state "in the current conditions" would be a Hamas state, and that there was a reason that the Palestinian Authority had not held elections since 2005.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that all major issues were agreed upon and that the deal was in its final stretches. Hamas "went silent" without explanation on Tuesday but then returned to the negotiating table, and negotiators remain optimistic.
According to the reported outline of the deal, in the first phase, Israel will receive 34 hostages, the majority of which are presumed to be alive. In exchange, Israel will free hundreds of terrorists, including those with life sentences.
The IDF will redeploy within the Gaza Strip, and a ceasefire will be in place for a month and a half. During this time, Israel and Hamas will negotiate the details of the reported second and third phases of the deal.
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