Breaking down the deal: Inside look at the three-stage agreement between Hamas and Israel

Report by Toni Mrad, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Horrific scenes might no longer occur if an agreement is reached for a hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel, backed by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.

Details of this agreement, received by Hamas from Israel via intermediaries, include three stages:

The first stage lasts for 40 days, involving a cessation of military operations between the two parties, Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza to an area near the border away from densely populated areas, and a halt to military and reconnaissance aircraft flights for a specified time each day. 

This stage also includes the return of displaced individuals to their residential areas and facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid, relief materials, and fuel, as well as the reopening of hospitals and health centers in all areas of the Gaza Strip.

During this time, the hostage exchange process between the two sides proceeds in batches as specified in the agreement. 

The first stage, lasting 33 days, sees Hamas releasing 33 captives, starting with children, elderly, and women among civilians and female conscripts, while Israel releases Palestinian prisoners according to the list provided by Hamas.

Additionally, indirect negotiations between the parties begin in the first stage regarding the necessary arrangements to restore calm to the region.

Work commences on rehabilitating infrastructure such as electricity and water in all areas of the sector and facilitating the entry of supplies to establish shelters to accommodate displaced persons who have lost their homes during the war.

The second stage, lasting 42 days, involves announcing the start of sustainable calm, followed by the completion of the prisoner exchange process between the parties, including the remaining Israeli men alive in exchange for an agreed-upon number of prisoners in Israeli jails. 

During this stage, the Israeli army withdraws to outside the Gaza Strip.

The third stage, lasting about 42 days, includes the exchange of all bodies and remains of the dead from both sides and the implementation of a five-year plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.