In August 2024, Israel announced that it had killed the Hamas leader in a July 13 air strike in the Khan Younis area. Hamas also confirmed the deaths of Ghazi Abu Tama’a and Raad Thabet.
The truce calls for fighting to stop, aid to be sent in to Gaza & remaining hostages to go free in the first phase in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Israeli cabinet in early hours of Saturday ratified agreement that could pave the way for an end to 15-month war with Hamas. The deal is expected to come into effect Sunday.
Despite Israel’s delays and reluctance, Hamas said it was committed to the deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet would meet to give final approval to the accord.
The complex accord emerged Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt & the US. Israeli bombardment, especially in Gaza City, killed 32 people hours later, medics say.
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari earlier told a news conference that both sides were presented with a text and talks on the last details were under way.
If successful, the ceasefire deal would cap over a year of start-and-stop talks & lead to the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early days of conflict.
Govt says digital payments also uplift under-served communities by providing them financial footprint that can be used to assess credit worthiness in absence of traditional documents.
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