By Chris Steyn
Reaching an outline for the release of hostages is a direct result of Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip and “derives from the achievements so far” of the Israeli military.
That is according to Israeli government sources who say: “It constitutes proof of the necessity of the ground operation – not only for the purpose of overthrowing the Hamas regime and displacing it, but also for the purpose of freeing all the hostages.”
This after the Government of Israel approved an outline today (22 November) for the release of hostages.
According to this outline, at least 50 hostage-held women and children will be released from Hamas captivity over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be observed.
Ten additional hostages will be released for each additional day in the pause.
At the same time, Israel will release up to 150 prisoners (from a defined, closed list), in pulses parallel to the release of the other hostages.
However, the Israeli government sources stress that:
- The kidnapping of 240 Israelis and foreigners – including infants, children, women, and the elderly – from Israeli territory to the Gaza Strip on October 7 is “a war crime and a crime against humanity”;
- The return of all the hostages is a “supreme obligation” of the State of Israel, and Israel “will not relent” until it is completed;
- The hostages crisis remains unchanged – even if the current outline is completed in full, as about two hundred hostages will still be held in Gaza – and Israel demands the release of all hostages, without exception; and
- Until the last of the hostages is released, Israel demands that the international community and the International Red Cross visit all of them, obtain signs of life, and verify their medical and humanitarian conditions.
The Israeli government says the outline for the return of the hostages was reached with the assistance of US President Joe Biden and the mediation of Egypt and Qatar – and thanks all parties involved in obtaining the plan.
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