2023 Israel–Hamas ceasefire facts for kids
A temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip took effect from 24 November 2023 to 30 November 2023, during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.
The initial agreement, mediated by Qatar, stipulated a four-day break in fighting during which 50 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israel were to be released and more humanitarian aid will be allowed to enter Gaza, with the ceasefire subject to extension providing additional hostages are released. On 27 November, Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a two-day extension to the ceasefire was agreed in which 20 Israelis and 60 Palestinians would be released. Close to the end of the first extension, on 30 November, another one day extension to the truce was agreed by the sides. The mediators in Qatar and in Egypt reported they work to negotiate a further extension of the truce.
The deal was welcomed internationally, including by the United States, which also supported the deal's extensions. Although both sides have blamed each other for violating the ceasefire. On 1 December the truce ended with Hamas alleging that Israel rejected a hostage exchange deal to prolong the truce and Hamas then launched rockets into Sderot. Israel responded with air raids on Gaza with Gaza Health Ministry reporting 20 deaths.
Background
On 7 October 2023, during Hamas-led attack on Israel that commenced the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Palestinian militants captured or abducted around 250 people, including both soldiers and civilians, from Israel and took them back to the Gaza Strip. By 23 November, four have been released by Hamas, two were found dead near the al-Shifa Hospital and one has been rescued.
Hamas have proposed an "everyone for everyone" deal, in which Palestinian militant groups would release all of the Israeli captives in return for the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israel. 5,200 Palestinians were incarcerated by Israel before the war, but according to Palestinian officials, the number rose to over 10,000 amid a wave of mass detentions; following the deportation of several thousand detained Gazan workers, the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs placed the number at approximately 8,300. Many of these prisoners are held under administrative detention, a process which is critized by human right organizations as it only applied to West Bank Palestinians, and were arrested for crimes such as speech and nonviolent protest. Families of the hostages have urged the Israeli government to accept the deal, claiming it was supported by "all of Israel," but Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has dismissed the offer and insisted that Israel would free the hostages by force. Several countries and international organisations have called for temporary or permanent ceasefires since the start of the war. Several countries have been involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, with Qatar taking the lead.
