A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces emphasized Wednesday that the military would be implementing an “operational pause,” not a cease-fire, as Hamas and Israel finalize an agreement to release 50 Israeli women and children in exchange for 150 jailed Palestinians.
Major Libby Weiss also warned that Hezbollah and other states that are sponsoring and harboring Hezbollah will “bear the consequences of their involvement” should they continue to do so.
“At this stage we are waiting to get the final decision from the political level and once we do, we will implement that, but I think it’s best to really characterize this as a pause,” Weiss told Newsmax TV’s “National Report” Wednesday.
“We will of course abide by whatever the government is deciding here and the discussions around this framework are now really at their peak within Israel. We will abide by that. I think it’s more accurate to see this as a pause and then we will resume our goal, which is to free the rest of the hostages and to make sure Hamas is never in a position of power again,” she added.
The deal, brokered by Qatar, the U.S., and Egypt, was made public as fighting intensified in central neighborhoods of Gaza City. Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV channel said the truce would take effect Thursday morning local time.
It caps weeks of fitful indirect negotiations and sets the stage for a tense period that could determine the course of the war, which was set off by Hamas’ Oct. 7 raid and has seen more than 11,000 Palestinians killed, according to health authorities. Hamas and other militant groups kidnapped some 240 people from Israel and killed at least 1,200.
Israel, Hamas, and Qatar have released different details of the agreement, but those details do not appear to contradict each other.
The Israeli military will be “holding fire, regrouping, and preparing ourselves for the next stage,” during the pause, Weiss added.
“After this, we will continue to target Hamas and make sure they are never in a position to target Israelis again.”
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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