ADDS DETAILS
By Rania Abu Shamala
ISTANBUL (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke late Wednesday with US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump and thanked them for their support in advancing the release of the Israeli hostages.
Netanyahu “spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families,” his office said in a statement.
The two decided to meet in Washington "soon," the statement added.
Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostage deal, said his office.
Earlier in the day, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani confirmed the agreement at a news conference in the capital Doha.
He outlined the first phase, which will last 42 days and include the release of 33 Israeli detainees in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.
The announcement comes on day 467 of Israel's genocide against Gaza, which with US backing has killed and wounded more than 156,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters in recent times.