The Israel-Hamas hostage deal, explained

On Tuesday, the Israeli government reportedly approved a deal with Hamas that the state of Qatar brokered and that has been more than a month in the making.

The final deal has yet to be officially announced, but the rough outlines reported in the media throughout Tuesday include several key planks: Hamas would exchange 50 hostages — women and children who are Israeli and dual-national — with Israel for about 150 Palestinian prisoners currently held in custody, mostly women. If all goes to plan, Israel would commence a four-day ceasefire in Gaza and would also stop drone overflights for six hours a day. After those days, the ceasefire could be extended a day with each additional 10 or 20 hostages Hamas releases, though the details are a bit different in each news report. During this period, Israel would not allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, but would allow some 300 trucks of aid in daily, including fuel.

This is a deal that has essentially been on the table for about a month, and according to the Guardian, negotiations were already happening before Israel launched its ground attacks on Gaza. Israel had defined its twin objectives as eliminating Hamas and bringing the hostages back, but experts noted that the former had been the priority until political dynamics led to an increased willingness among Israeli leadership to accept a truce to bring some hostages home. “Public pressure led Netanyahu to agree to a deal that he refused until now,” wrote journalist Yossi Verter in Haaretz’s Hebrew edition.