A Hostage Deal on the Horizon: Updates on Israel and Palestine Conflict

After Hamas’ attack on October 7th, resulting in the death of 1,200 Israeli people, Israel has pursued a goal to eliminate the Hamas group once and for all. Indeed, as Israel continues its air and ground campaign on Gaza, another goal lies amidst both the Israeli and Hamas parties– the safe return of hostages. According to a recent article released by CNN, weeks of negotiations between the United States, Egypt, Hamas, and Israel led to an agreement for a temporary truce and hostage release. Hostages from both war parties involved will first be released on Friday morning when there is a temporary pause of fighting. Although the truce is expected to be short, it could potentially be longer, as each 10 additional hostages released from both sides will account for an extra day. Thus, the truce has the potential to last around 10 days, but Israeli officials believe that is largely unlikely. Another CNN article discusses specific questions regarding the identities of the hostages planned to be released and the routes they will take. Hostage names have yet to be published and have instead been kept to the parties involved. Routes these hostages will take when released have also not been disclosed for safety and security purposes.

This hostage deal has caught the attention– and hearts– of hundreds of thousands of people across the globe—the Pope included. Politico shares how the Pope met with the relatives of both Israeli and Palestinian hostages to hear their stories. However, by referring to the conflict with words of “terrorism” and “genocide”, the Pope has set off a diplomatic firestorm, upsetting numerous hostage relatives present. Clearly, tensions remain high between Israelis and Palestinians– not just those in Gaza—but around the world. As the world continues to bicker and take sides in this conflict, we can only hope for a long-term solution similar to that of the approaching truce—and pray that the truce holds up in the mere four days it is meant to take place.