An agreement was approved in the early hours of Wednesday by the Israeli government, which provides for the release of 50 Hamas hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and the declaration of a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The relevant announcement was made after the marathon meeting of Israel’s war cabinet.

“The government approved in broad terms (…) an agreement on the basis of which at least 50 abducted persons – women and children – will be released in four days, during which there will be a cessation of fighting,” the statement said.

During the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that part of the agreed plan would be the visits by the Red Cross to the abductees who have not yet been released – including the supply of medicines.

The release of every ten additional hostages will result in one more day in the ceasefire.

The first hostage release is planned for tomorrow, Thursday.

The Israeli prime minister clarified that the war will continue until the goals set are achieved. “So I want to make this clear: We are at war, we will continue to be at war… until we achieve all our goals. We will destroy Hamas, bring back all the abductees and the missing, and ensure that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said.

For his part, Defense Minister Yoav Gallad said the agreement was the “first step” to the release of all prisoners held hostage by Hamas, stressing that the successes of the military operation brought closer to reaching an agreement.

Before the start of the Council, Benjamin Netanyahu had repeated that “the war will continue after the release of the hostages. We will not stop until we achieve total victory. Until we get them all back. This is a sacred duty for us.”

Netanyahu: “The return of the hostages is our sacred and supreme mission”

Earlier, in his statements, the Prime Minister of Israel characterized “sacred and supreme mission” the return of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October.

“The return of our hostages is a sacred and supreme mission – to which I am committed. We will not deviate from our mission which is to return them, and it is my responsibility as well as the war cabinet,” he said in statements today, Tuesday.

Netanyahu made the statement after he and his war cabinet met with the families of the hostages on Monday as anger among the hostages’ relatives over the government’s delay in the matter grows.