TEL AVIV, 12 Oct. - (ANA) - Israeli media outlets have revealed new details of what they describe as "secret clauses" in the ceasefire and prisoner-exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas.

 

The New Arab looks into what exactly these clauses are and what the ramifications of them could be on the long-term prospects for peace.

 

 

 

 

According to Israel’s Army Radio, the "secret humanitarian framework" allows, for the first time since the war began in October 2023, Palestinians from Gaza who fled to Egypt to return to the Strip through the Rafah crossing.

 

The same framework authorises the daily entry of 600 aid trucks under United Nations supervision and other approved international organisations. The trucks will carry food, medicine, shelter materials, fuel and cooking gas.

 

They will be permitted to travel freely from southern to northern Gaza via the Salah al-Din and al-Rashid roads.

 

The framework also enables Gazans to travel to Egypt through Rafah under the January 2025 mechanism, which requires prior Israeli approval and inspection by an EU mission. There will be no limit on the number of people allowed to exit Gaza.

 

For the first time since the start of the war, Gazans who left the enclave through Egypt will also be allowed to return - though the process will begin only after an agreed mechanism is established with Cairo, followed by clear criteria and procedures for the return.

 

 

 

 

Israeli public broadcaster KAN published what it said was a page from the memorandum of understanding between Israel and Hamas titled 'Comprehensive End to the Gaza War'.

 

 The document, bearing the signatures of mediating countries, suggests Israel must commit to a complete end to the war, not merely the implementation of its first phase.

 

Under the document’s terms, within 72 hours of the agreement taking effect Hamas must hand over all information it holds regarding the bodies of Israeli captives to a joint task force involving Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

 

The release of the living Israeli captives is to take place quietly, without media coverage or ceremonies. A task force will be formed from the United States, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and any other country agreed by both sides to oversee implementation.

 

 

 

 

Channel 12 reported that 72 hours after Israeli forces reposition along the withdrawal line, Hamas will release 20 living captives and the bodies of 28 deceased captives, including four non-Israeli citizens.

 

Only after that stage will Palestinian prisoners be freed, including 250 serving life sentences, 1,700 Gazans not involved in the events of 7 October 2023, and 22 minors.

 

Those serving life terms will be deported to Gaza or abroad, and Israel will return 360 bodies of Palestinian fighters.

 

If not all Israeli bodies are returned, a clause containing a military threat will come into effect. According to KAN 11, which cited an Israeli official familiar with the text, this clause is mostly "a collection of empty words".

 

 

 

 

At the same time, Hamas expressed concern during the negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh about possible behind-the-scenes coordination between Israel and the United States that could allow Israel to resume the war after retrieving its captives.

 

Mediators told Israel that Hamas feared "a conspiracy" similar to previous ceasefire breakdowns.

 

In response, Israeli representatives - including Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer - reportedly told mediators on record that "if Hamas abides by the terms of the agreement, Israel will continue to implement it as signed".

 

They added that "Israel is committed" to the full Gaza plan of US President Donald Trump, while Hamas received written guarantees from mediators and, through them, from Washington.

 

Observers say the coming days will be the first test of whether Israel and Hamas uphold the terms of the deal. Previous ceasefire arrangements in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere have often collapsed amid disputes over interpretation.

 

Implementation now depends on how Israel interprets the agreement - and on whether the US administration enforces its own commitments to ending the war.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/12 October 2025  - - -