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Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage release deal, paving the way for a possible end to the conflict in Gaza.
Under the plan, Hamas will release the 20 living hostages it is still holding, while Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed line and free nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, sources told the BBC.
Syria’s minister of defense announced a ceasefire Tuesday after overnight clashes between security forces and Kurdish fighters in neighborhoods of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.
Murhaf Abu Qasra said in a statement that he had met with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in Damascus and “agreed on a comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts and military positions in northern and northeastern Syria.”
Hundreds of people, including over 125 civilians, have been killed along Syria’s Mediterranean coast in what authorities consider the deadliest burst of violence since Islamic rebels defeated President Bashar al Assad’s forces in December.
More than 225 people have died in the fighting that erupted in Latakia and Tartous this week, according to a Friday tally from the Syrian Network for Human Rights, notes CNN.
The Israeli military began a ground offensive targeting Gaza City on Tuesday, slowly squeezing in on the Palestinian territory’s largest city that has seen block after block already destroyed in the Israel-Hamas war. Residents still in the city were warned they must leave and head south.
The push marks yet another escalation in a conflict that has roiled the Middle East, as any potential ceasefire feels even further out of reach despite months of diplomacy. While the military wouldn’t offer a timeline for the offensive, Israeli media outlets suggested it could take months.
Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The strike on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages.
