PEACE activists cautiously welcomed the agreement between Hamas and Israel today to pause fighting in Gaza but warned it wasn’t enough, demanding a complete ceasefire.

The Gulf nation of Qatar has helped to broker a deal between the two sides for a four-day truce which reportedly will begin on Thursday morning.

The truce will be accompanied by the release of dozens of prisoners of war held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners jailed by Israel.

The temporary pause marks the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since Hamas’s October 7 surprise uprising against the Israeli occupation sparked a war that has devastated vast swathes of Gaza and raised fears of a wider conflict across the Middle East.

Fifty hostages are set to be released in stages, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Both sides will release women and children first, and the supply of humanitarian aid flowing into the besieged territory will be ramped up, Qatari officials said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that Israel’s Cabinet had approved the deal following a six-hour meeting that stretched into Wednesday morning, but made no mention of the release of Palestinian prisoners or increased humanitarian aid.

But Mr Netanyahu also said: “We are at war and we will continue the war. 

“We will continue until we achieve all our goals.”

Peace activists said the truce was to be welcomed but that it didn’t go far enough in a war that has already cost more than 13,000 Palestinian and at least 1,400 Israeli lives.

Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said that he was glad the “guns will be silenced for even one hour. Glad to see even one hostage (Israeli or Palestinian) released. 

“But, then what? Back to bombing two million people until either they are dead or they agree to go into permanent exile while settlers rampage across the West Bank and East Jerusalem?”

Co-founder of women-led peace group Codepink, Medea Benjamin, posted on the X social media site: “We must use this brief pause in the Israeli bombing to push for a real ceasefire in Gaza! The desperate people of Gaza must be saved!”

The British-based Palestinian Solidarity Campaign welcomed the “four-day respite” and said: “We must raise our voices to demand that this truce is made permanent, that the cruel siege on the Gaza Strip is completely lifted, and the root causes of the crisis in Palestine are addressed.”

The International People’s Assembly said: “The people of the world stand with Palestine and demand more: a permanent ceasefire!”