WATCH: Jamie Shea discusses the delicate hostage situation

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza for at least four days, to let in aid and free at least 50 hostages held by Hamas in the Palestinian enclave in exchange for 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.

CGTN spoke to Jamie Shea, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, and has been working with NATO since 1980. 

"Qatar has played a decisive role because of its close links to Hamas," said Shea. "Many of the senior Hamas commanders are living permanently in Doha so Qatar has a lot of influence over them - it has mediated before and it's a trusted go-between. It also has good relations with the United States." 

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Will it take the pressure off Hamas?

Shea said that the Gulf emirate focused on convincing Hamas leaders to agree to a ceasefire, while the U.S. played a key role in urging Israel to pause the fighting.

He explained the complexities of the weeks-long negotiations which required "putting pressure on the Israelis to do something which initially they were very reluctant to do… to agree to any kind of a pause in their military operations for fear that it would take the pressure off Hamas."

The expert went on to explain the role of some of the other "crucial" regional players such as Egypt. 

"It controls the only border crossing into Gaza at Rafah," added Shea. 

And in just four days of truce to get a lot of medical supplies, food, fuel and water into Gaza to relieve the dire situation, "you've got to have Egypt's full cooperation" to get all of those hundreds of trucks moving so the "pause can be exploited to the full by the humanitarian relief organizations."

But how will this deal be received by the people on both sides? 

Shea said that there has been a very strong movement calling on the Israeli government to work for the release of the hostages, "notwithstanding, of course, the universal desire in Israel to punish Hamas" for what happened on October 7. 

"There's been a big march of people sympathetic to the plight of the hostages…. So Netanyahu has been under a lot of pressure to make a move on this, despite some of the opposition from his right wing who would like to continue the military operations," added the expert.

Opportunity for a lasting ceasefire?

Furthermore, given the critical situation in Gaza, Hamas appears to recognize the necessity of a conciliatory move. Refusing a humanitarian truce would not only signify a desire to prolong the conflict but also risks "a significant loss of support from the Palestinian population, both in Gaza and the West Bank." This seems to align with the current priorities of both Hamas and Israel.

"But of course, the key question is, will this just be a sort of a drop in the ocean? Four days of quiet with some relief going in as much as the relief agencies can deliver but then we're going to go back to business as usual," highlighted Shea.

He went on to question if the international community - the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, the Arab nations - can all work together to convert this temporary pause in fighting into "a lasting ceasefire" and establish a "humanitarian zone in Gaza, which would at least give more durable shelter to the civilian population of Gaza."

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