Hamas and Israel have reached a landmark agreement to pause the 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, key mediators say. Israel says the ceasefire deal is in its final stages.
Under the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, some hostages will be freed and there will be a pause in hostilities, US President Joe Biden and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Wednesday.
The deal would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” Biden said. Al Thani announced the deal would take effect on 19 January.
Families of the hostages captured in Gaza began to celebrate in Tel Aviv, the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the details of a final agreement had not yet been finalized.
“Several clauses in the framework remain unresolved, and we hope the details will be finalised tonight,” his office said in a statement.
The deal between the sides was postponed late Wednesday over the Philadelphi Corridor — a strategic strip of land along the border between Gaza and Egypt. Israel said Hamas had attempted to change an already agreed understanding for security arrangements along the border, but had eventually backed down.
Hamas have not yet officially commented on a potential deal.
Netanyahu faces opposition from hardliners in his cabinet.National Security Minister Itamir Ben-Gvir has threatened to resign in protest to the proposed deal.
Netanyahu’s government is set to officially vote on the deal on Thursday morning with speculation that despite opposition, the majority of ministers will give the green light to the truce.
If agreed, a ceasefire deal would bring a temporary pause to a 15-month war in the Gaza Strip that has killed thousands, sparked a parallel conflict in Lebanon and destabilized the region.
On Tuesday, US officials signaled the deal was built round three phases which included an initial six-week pause in fighting and the release of nearly 33 Israeli hostages taken hostage by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023.
Some Palestinians are expected to be allowed to return to their homes and around 1,000 Palestinians prisoners held in Israel would be released.
