Israel and Hamas have tentatively agreed to a ceasefire deal, mediators announced Wednesday, halting the devastating 15-month-old conflict in the Gaza Strip and raising the prospect of an end to the bloodiest and most destructive fighting between the two arch-enemies.
The agreement, which comes after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, stipulates the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in stages, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and will allow hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Gaza to return to their homes. What’s left of their homes. It will also lead to the flow of much-needed humanitarian aid to a devastated region.
Three officials from the United States and one from Hamas confirmed that an agreement had been reached, while a senior Israeli official said that the details were still being ironed out.
The three American officials requested anonymity to discuss the features of the deal before the official announcement by the mediators in Doha.
President Joe Biden is preparing to deliver a speech about the breakthrough agreement later Thursday, officials said.
The agreement still needs approval from the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but it is expected to enter into force in the coming days.
A government official told Reuters that the Israeli government will vote on the ceasefire agreement in Gaza on Thursday.
The agreement is expected to lead to an initial cessation of fighting for a period of six weeks, accompanied by the start of negotiations on ending the war completely.
Over six weeks, 33 of about 100 hostages will be reunited with their loved ones after months spent in captivity without any contact with the outside world, although it is unclear whether all of them will survive.
It is not clear exactly when and how many displaced Palestinians will be able to return to what remains of their homes and whether the agreement will lead to a complete end to the conflict and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza – Hamas’s main demands for the release of Palestinians. The remaining prisoners.
Many long-term questions remain about Gaza, including who will govern the area or oversee the arduous task of reconstruction.
However, the announcement offered the first sign of hope in months that Israel and Hamas might end the deadliest and most destructive war they have ever fought, a conflict that has destabilized the greater Middle East and sparked protests around the world.
Hamas sparked the conflict with its cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a ferocious attack that killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas health officials, displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and sparked a humanitarian crisis.
More than 100 hostages were released from Gaza in a week-long truce in November 2023.
The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, mediated months of indirect talks between the two arch-enemies, which finally culminated in this latest deal. This comes after Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group agreed to a ceasefire in November, after more than a year of war-related conflict in Gaza.
Israel responded with a brutal air and ground attack that killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. They do not distinguish between civilians and militants, but they say that women and children constitute more than half of the dead.
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Estimates from the United Nations and international relief organizations indicate that about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced, often several times. They say tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and hospitals are barely functioning. Experts have warned that famine may be underway in northern Gaza, where Israel launched a major offensive in early October, displacing tens of thousands of residents.
Abed Radwan, a Palestinian father of three, said of the ceasefire agreement: “The best day of my life and the lives of the people of Gaza.” “Praise be to God. Thank God.”
Radwan, who was displaced from the town of Beit Lahia more than a year ago and is seeking refuge in Gaza City, said that he will try to return to his hometown and “rebuild my home and rebuild Beit Lahia.”
He spoke to the Associated Press by phone. The celebrations drowned out his voice. “People are crying here. They can’t believe this is true.”
In Israel, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding the completion of the deal. Many of them carried pictures of hostages held by Hamas, and others raised candles in the air.
When the deal was announced, some people didn’t know it had happened. Sharon Lifshitz, whose father Oded is being held hostage, told the AP by phone that she was stunned and grateful, but she wouldn’t believe it until she saw them return home.
Biden, who has provided crucial military aid to Israel but expressed outrage over civilian deaths, announced the broad outlines of a three-phase ceasefire agreement on May 31. Ultimately, it was agreed to follow this framework.
He added that the first phase will last for six weeks and will include a complete and complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas in Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded. In exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian aid will surge, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza every day.
The second, and most difficult, phase includes the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of a major reconstruction process in Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding after the devastation caused by the war.
Hamas was demanding guarantees of a permanent cessation of the war and the complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza. At the same time, Israel has repeatedly said that it will not stop the war until Hamas’s military and governance capabilities are destroyed.
The various players conducted months of on-and-off negotiations. But as Biden’s days in office approach and President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, both sides have come under intense pressure to agree to a deal.
Trump celebrated the soon-to-be-announced agreement in a post on his social media platform, Truth, saying: “We have a deal for hostages in the Middle East. They will be released soon. Thank you!”
Hezbollah’s acceptance of a ceasefire in Lebanon after suffering painful blows, and the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, were two major setbacks for Iran and its allies across the region, including Hamas, which has become increasingly isolated.
Israel has been subjected to severe international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, due to civilian casualties. Israel says it has killed about 17,000 militants – although it has not provided evidence to support this claim. It also holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, and accuses the group of using schools, hospitals, and residential areas for military purposes.
The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations made by South Africa that Israel committed genocide. The International Criminal Court, a separate body also based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister and a Hamas commander on charges of war crimes and war-related crimes against humanity.
Israel and the United States condemned the actions taken by the two courts.
Netanyahu also faced significant internal pressure to repatriate the hostages, whose plight captured the nation’s attention. Their families have become a powerful pressure group with broad popular support, buoyed by months of massive protests urging the government to reach an agreement with Hamas.
Israeli authorities have already concluded that more than a third of the approximately 100 remaining prisoners are dead, and there are fears that others are no longer alive. A series of videos released by Hamas showing surviving hostages in distress, combined with news that a growing number of kidnapped Israelis have died, has increased pressure on the Israeli leader.
Hamas, the armed group that does not accept Israel’s existence, has come under enormous pressure as a result of Israeli military operations, including the invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and the seizure of the Gaza-Egypt border. Its senior leaders were killed, including Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have helped orchestrate the October 7, 2023, attack.
But its fighters have regrouped in some of the worst-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the possibility of a long-term insurgency if the war continues.
Netanyahu pledged to continue the war until Hamas’s military and governance capabilities are destroyed. But it was never clear what that would entail or whether it would even be possible, given the group’s deep roots in Palestinian society, its presence in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, and its exiled leadership.
If the ceasefire holds, both sides will face many difficult, unanswered questions.
As the war nears its end, Netanyahu will face increasing calls for post-war investigations, which could find him responsible, at least in part, for the October 7 security failures, the worst in Israel’s history. His far-right ruling partners, who opposed the ceasefire agreement, could bring down the coalition and push the country into early elections.
There is still no plan for who will rule Gaza after the war. Israel said it would work with local Palestinians not linked to Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. But it is unclear whether such partners exist, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with Israeli forces.
The United States has tried to present comprehensive post-war plans to form a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with Arab and international assistance. As part of these plans, the United States hopes that Saudi Arabia will normalize relations with Israel in exchange for American security guarantees and assistance in establishing a civilian nuclear program.
But these plans depend on making credible progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, something that Netanyahu and much of Israel’s political class oppose. Netanyahu said Israel would maintain open security control over Gaza and the occupied West Bank, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 war and which the Palestinians want for their future state.
In the absence of a post-war arrangement with Palestinian support, Hamas is likely to remain an important force in Gaza, and could rebuild its military capabilities if Israeli forces withdraw completely.
