The Israeli-Israeli War in the West End ended with a Violation of the Second Israel-Zel’dovich Protocol

But the second group eventually won out, leading Mr. Netanyahu to hold the vote early Wednesday, setting the stage for a four-day truce and prisoner exchange that could begin this week. A senior defense official from the first group said that its members had changed their minds because the terms that Israel was able to obtain in the signed deal were significantly better than those that existed a week ago.

Four senior security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that another group led by the head of Mossad argued that the deal was better than no deal at all and that the invasion could continue after the brief cease-fire.

Israel says it will continue the war after the exchange deal is complete. But it says it is willing to extend the temporary cease-fire up to five more days, and free an additional 150 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, if Hamas frees 50 additional Israeli hostages — which could bring the total number of those ultimately freed under the deal to 100 Israelis and 300 Palestinians.

When it was all said and done, the deal to release some of the hostages held by Hamas came down to two critical phone calls ultimately forcing each side to make a tough concession.

Israel made it clear that the fighting isn’t over. The Israeli government said in a statement that it will continue the war in order to return the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas, and ensure there’s no new threat to Israel from Gaza.

On Wednesday night, Mr. Biden said on X that Tuesday’s deal is a testament to the hard work and determination of many dedicated individuals in the United States government. It is important that all aspects are implemented.

The White House was given information about the hostages by the government in a small Gulf state that hosts some Hamas leaders, who suggested that there might be a deal for their release. The Qataris asked that a small group of U.S. officials work secretly with them and the Israelis.

The national security adviser directed the White House Middle Eastordinator and the deputy homeland security adviser to take the lead. To preserve secrecy, other agencies were kept in the dark about the initiative.

Mr. McGurk held calls each morning with the emir of France and then briefed Mr. Sullivan on the situation. Mr. Sullivan stayed in touch with Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi, two of Mr. Netanyahu’s closest advisers.

Hamas and Romi Gonen: ‘It’s hard to make it, but I’m glad to hear it’s coming’

The people who come out of this horror and terror are very welcome. But in the same breath, it’s really hard because at the same time, maybe my sister won’t be among the 50 people. So I’m trying hard not to get my hopes up.”

When Hamas fighters attacked the Supernova concert, Romi Gonen was able to call her mother. In a recording of part of their conversation, shared by the family with NPR, gunfire can be heard and so can shouts, which the family believes are the voices of Hamas fighters.

With so much uncertainty, Gonen says she and her family now have to wait a little longer for a phone call from Israeli government officials, confirming whether Romi is coming home as part of this deal.

Yarden Gonen and her family are in Tel Aviv every day to meet with other families of hostages. Other Israelis are also watching the situation.

The sense of community is important to Gonen’s family’s mental health. But even with that help, she said these weeks of waiting without solid information about her sister have been exhausting and terrifying.

We’re in ups and downs. We have so much support,” she says. I have a brand new family to contend with right now. All the [hostage] families are in the same boat I’m in, suffering from the same pain and uncertainty.”

The families of hostages issued a statement on Wednesday asking the Israeli government to immediately release additional hostages.

In a statement late Tuesday, President Biden said he and his wife were keeping everyone they had ever held hostage and their loved ones close to their hearts.

Hamas will release 50 Israeli hostages, who were captured in the Oct. 7 attack, after a deal was reached early Wednesday morning.

She is afraid for Israel, but she knows it’s coming: Israeli officials are excited about the release of a US citizen from Hamas’s army

While Yarden Gonen worries about her sister, she is also frightened for her partner, who’s been called up to serve in Israel’s army as part of a mobilization of 300,000 reservists to support the war.

Though she is happy about the newly announced deal to release some hostages, she fears the pause in fighting will give Hamas a chance to regroup, leaving Israel and its army more vulnerable.

“This is the fear all the time because you don’t know what they’re planning or what they know or what they are doing or what they plan to do,” Gonen says.

“I just keep on praying and sending really good energies,” Gonen told NPR Wednesday, after details of the deal were made public. “I’ll be excited for anyone that will be [released] because they are my family too.”

In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the agreement for the release of hostages, “including American citizens.” There’s at least 10 dual US-Israeli citizens who are still missing and three of them could be released as part of the deal, according to a senior Biden administration official.

It comes more than six weeks into an intense war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’ massive Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which Israel says militants killed some 1,200 Israelis and seized around 240 hostages. The data from the Gaza health ministry shows that more than 12,000 people have been killed in Israel’s bombardments.

Early Wednesday, Israel published the names of Palestinian prisoners slated for release in accordance with Israeli law, which allows the Israeli public to submit objections to Israel’s Supreme Court. The court was petitioned to block the deal by an Israeli group of victims of Palestinian attacks. The court, however, is not expected to intervene.

Thirty three women and two teenage boys are on the list. Some have been charged with offenses such as stone-throwing and have been arrested by Israeli forces in recent years. Most are awaiting trial on charges that include stone throwing and attempted murder. There are a number of people being held without charges or trial.

The Israeli army promised to notify the writer of Sharon and Noam’s release ahead of time, he said.

Yousef Afghani, a Palestinian living in Jerusalem, was surprised to see that his daughter was on the Israeli list of prisoners it was prepared to release. She has served seven years of her 15-year sentence, convicted for an attempted 2016 stabbing in which no one was wounded. She denied attempting to stab her father, who told NPR she was carrying a knife.

Any father has feelings for me. Celebration and happiness and joy,” Afghani told NPR. The kidnapping of Israelis to Gaza, which resulted in the release of his daughter, was condemned by him. “We are against any kind of attack against civilians.”

In Rome, Pope Francis met with relatives of Hamas hostages in Gaza as well as people held in Israel. Francis said he thought both sides were suffering, but that the conflict had gone beyond war. This is not a war; it is terrorism.

The Israelis and U.S. citizens are part of a group believed to be held by Hamas. More than 20 Thai farm laborers were seized in the attack near the Gaza border. Fox says she understands that the Thais are not part of the exchange deal.

Israel’s Channel 12 news says the deal will allow significant humanitarian aid into Gaza including fuel to run generators, which are the only source of electricity in the territory. Since Israel launched airstrikes and a subsequent ground invasion of Gaza after last month’s Hamas attack, the territory’s 2.2 million people have experienced dire shortages of food, water and medical supplies. Hamas said “hundreds” of trucks carrying aid and fuel would be allowed to enter Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Israel-Hamas Correspondence and the Temporal Breakdown of the Syria-Israeli Inter-Continuum Agreement

Biden thanked the Prime Minister of Qatar and Egypt for their help brokering the deal.

In Qatar, where the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was hammered out over a period of weeks — the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said that talks on a new date and time to implement the agreement were “progressing positively” and that an announcement is expected “in the coming hours,” according to the Qatar News Agency.

“Israel should immediately allow for the permanent resumption of sufficient fuel, water and electricity supplies, without which humanitarian needs will continue to deepen,” the Red Cross said.

In a statement issued later, the ICRC said it “welcomes any respite from the fighting and bombardment in Gaza,” adding that “Everything possible must be done to scale humanitarian aid during this pause.”

Netanyahu highlighted the delicate nature of the agreement during his Wednesday briefing. Reading from what he said was part of the temporary cease-fire agreement, the prime minister said that the ICRC “will be allowed to visit the rest of the hostages and provide them with necessary medicines.”

The reason for the delay was not immediately clear, but Israel’s Channel 12 quoted an unnamed Israeli political official as saying “The delay isn’t substantive, but technical.”

Around midnight Wednesday and just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a televised, late-evening media briefing where he discussed the agreement, Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said the temporary cease-fire was still on track “according to the original agreement,” but that it wouldn’t occur before Friday.