Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire to end the 15-month war in Gaza and free remaining hostages, mediators said, raising hopes for an end to a devastating conflict that has shook the Middle East and the world beyond.
But despite celebrations erupting across the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office warned that some details still needed to be finalized Wednesday evening.
The multi-phase deal, set to come into effect on Sunday, a day before Donald Trump returns as US president, was announced by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin al-Thani. He stressed, however, that the parties still had to give their final agreement.
The deal offers hope of a halt – and potentially an end – to a brutal war that has become the deadliest chapter in the decades-long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leaving Gaza in ruins, devouring society Israeli and shaking up the Middle East. on the brink of all-out war.
The fighting was sparked by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which fighters from the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostage, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that killed more than 46,000 people and fueled a humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.
Previous attempts to broker a deal to end the conflict and secure the release of the 98 mostly Israeli hostages still in Gaza – not all of whom are alive – repeatedly failed when Israel and Hamas refused to make the necessary concessions.
But the re-election of Trump – who threatened there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not freed before his inauguration – has injected new momentum into the long-stalled talks.
Trump was among the first leaders to welcome the deal on Wednesday, writing on his Truth Social platform before the official announcement: “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR MIDDLE EAST HOSTAGES. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SOON.
He added that his national security team would “continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to ensure that Gaza NEVER becomes a haven for terrorists again.”
In his own comments welcoming the deal, US President Joe Biden described the Doha-based negotiations as “one of the most difficult negotiations I have ever experienced”.
He added that the agreement would “end the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and reunite hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.”
But Netanyahu’s office said shortly after Trump’s announcement that there remained “several open sections in the proposal and we expect the details to be finalized this evening.”
A person close to the negotiations said a deal was reached after the Qatari prime minister met separately with Hamas and Israeli negotiators in a last-ditch bid for a deal.
But the person added that although Hamas accepted the deal, giving in on one of its final demands, Israel had since “raised a new outstanding issue.” They said: “The mediators are working to resolve the problem. »
An Israeli official said the final details that Netanyahu’s office said still needed to be finalized concerned the identity of Palestinian prisoners who should be released in exchange for hostages.
The Israeli government is set to vote on the deal, which is based on a three-phase proposal first put forward by Biden last year. Far-right ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have expressed opposition, but are unlikely to be able to block the deal.
The first phase will involve a 42-day truce, during which 33 Israeli hostages – including children, all female prisoners, the sick and the elderly – will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons and an increase spectacular humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
The two sides would begin negotiating the second phase no later than the 16th day of the truce. During this period, the remaining hostages, including male soldiers, are expected to be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners.
If fully implemented, the second phase will also lead to a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
The final phase would involve the return of all remaining bodies of the dead hostages and the reconstruction of Gaza, under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
Talks over a deal intensified in mid-December after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A senior Biden administration official said one of the problems hindering the conclusion of the talks was Hamas’s refusal to acknowledge how many hostages it was holding and which ones would be revealed in the first phase of a deal .
The Palestinian group agreed at the end of December on a list of some 33 hostages, accelerating the end of the talks.
Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, was joined in the final days of talks by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. A senior Biden administration official called finalizing the arrangements a “historic and crucial partnership.”
Discussions continued into the early hours of Wednesday, with McGurk, Witkoff and Egyptian and Qatari officials upstairs with Israeli negotiators, and Hamas downstairs, hammering out dozens of final details.
Abu Shukri, a community organizer housed in the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza, said residents of the neighborhood lined the streets and balconies in anticipation of the announcement of the ceasefire agreement. As soon as the news reached them, people shouted and fired into the air in celebration.
“We just thank God,” Abu Shukri said of the news. “But we gave to our children, we gave to our parents.”
Additional reporting by Malaika Tapper in Beirut and Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv
