Israel, Hamas agree to temporary cease-fire, hostage release deal including freeing 3 Americans

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary cease-fire for humanitarian purposes that includes a hostage release deal, Fox News has confirmed. 

"The Israeli government is committed to the return of all hostages home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released for 4 days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. 

"The release of every ten additional hostages will result in an additional day of respite. The Israeli government, the IDF and the security forces will continue the war in order to return all the hostages, to complete the elimination of Hamas and to ensure that Gaza does not renew any threat to the State of Israel."

The cease-fire was officially announced hours after Israeli and Hamas leaders said Tuesday that negotiations were in their final stages. Qatari negotiators helped broker the agreement, which would take effect at 10 a.m. local time – 3 a.m. ET – Thursday. 

Under the deal, Israel's military has agreed to temporarily stop its pursuit of Hamas — including its ground invasion of Gaza and its airstrikes — for humanitarian purposes. Also, Hamas has agreed to release dozens of hostages in tandem with Israel agreeing to release Palestinian prisoners on a 3-to-1 ratio. Fox News’ Trey Yingst reported Hamas leaders would release one hostage for every three Palestinians that Israel releases from its prisons. 

Hamas, which governs Gaza, took about 240 hostages from Israel during its terror attack on Oct. 7, when it invaded Israel and killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The terror group said at the time that it took enough hostages, which included Israelis, Americans and other foreign nationals, to free all Palestinians in Israel.

LIVE UPDATES ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Hamas likewise officially approved the cease-fire, saying that it would release 50 women and children in exchange for 150 women and children held in Israel. It is not immediately clear which prisoners would be released. The initial hostages released will likely not include the entirety of women and children being held hostage. 

Even with a delicate deal finalized, the actual release of the hostages is expected to take at least 24 hours. The hostages would be released in groups of 10-12, Fox News' Jeff Paul reported Wednesday.

"You'll see the first hostages come out over the course of Thursday," a senior administration official said, noting that the release could occur at multiple locations.

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In their statement confirming the cease-fire, Hamas praised the brutal Oct. 7 terror attack against civilians as "victorious resistance."

"The terms of this agreement were formulated according to a vision that aims to serve our people and strengthen their steadfastness in the face of aggression, and always pay attention to their sacrifices, suffering and concerns," Hamas said in a statement Wednesday. "At the time when we announce the arrival of a truce agreement, we affirm that our victorious brigades and all our resistance factions will remain the protective shield and defender of our people until the occupation and aggression are defeated."

Netanyahu met with his war council Tuesday afternoon, then the security council and then his full cabinet before the agreement was announced. Ahead of the meetings, he said he hoped there would be "good news."

Earlier Tuesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Mark Regev, the senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, openly said a deal was close. 

The deal was announced as Israeli forces were working their way through northern Gaza and across the Gaza Strip. It also came after the Israeli military said it had targeted 250 different Hamas sites over the past day, killing dozens of Hamas combatants.

President Biden said he welcomes the cease-fire deal and that he is "extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls, who have endured weeks of captivity and an unspeakable ordeal, will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented."

Israel indicated that the temporary cease-fire is not an end to the war, and that their goal of eliminating Hamas remains.

"Nothing says that the war ends after hostages are returned," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told Fox News on Tuesday. "Hamas needs to be destroyed." 

Before the deal was struck, Conricus said that any cease-fire with Hamas, "based on our previous experience is always a dubious endeavor." 

"We have had soldiers taken hostage – or being abducted in 2014 after a U.N. cease-fire was brokered. So we have to be very careful when it comes to anything that relates to operations on the ground with Hamas," he said. "Based on our experience with Hamas, I can only believe what I see and I can touch with my own hands."

Around 240 hostages are being held by Hamas inside of the Gaza Strip.  

Qatari mediators were previously seeking a deal for Hamas to release 50 Israeli hostages, Reuters reported. Among those hostages would be three Americans, including Abigail Mor Idan. 

Approximately 10 Americans remain unaccounted for. 

Israel and Hamas have been at war since Hamas-led forces carried out the deadliest terror attack in Israel's history on Oct. 7, when it invaded Israel and killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

The Gaza Health Ministry – run by Hamas – has said more than 12,700 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's military in their counteroffensive.