Hamas and Israel have reached an agreement on the terms of a ceasefire in the ongoing 15-month war on Gaza as confirmed by both Qatar’s Prime Minister and the US President.
US President-elect Donald Trump also announced that a deal had been struck for the release of hostages held by Hamas, stating they would be freed “shortly.”
“We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!” Trump wrote on Truth Social network.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani held a news conference where he provided further details about the ceasefire agreement, as the country has been working with Egypt to facilitate talks toward a Gaza ceasefire.
The Qatari Prime Minister said that the ceasefire would commence on 19 January and that both Israel and Hamas had agreed to the release of detainees and captives.
Hamas is set to release 33 hostages in the first phase. At the same time, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed from Israeli jails.
The hostages’ release marks the first phase of the agreement. Negotiations for the second phase, aimed at ending the war, are slated to start on the 16th day of the deal’s implementation.
The deal comes after months of efforts of mediatiation from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, which were unsuccessful in brokering a new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, following the initial truce in November 2023, which lasted for a week.
The primary point of disagreement was whether Israeli troops would withdraw from the Gaza corridor. Throughout the past year of negotiations, Israel has maintained that it must control the movement of Palestinians to the north to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons back into those areas.
Residents of the Gaza Strip have already taken to the streets, celebrating with honking cars, expressing their excitement at the prospect of returning to their homes. The deal is expected to enable millions of Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, alongside a significant influx of humanitarian aid.
Since October 7, 2023, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has stated that at least 46,000 Palestinians have died and 109,274 have been wounded. More than 90 percent of the population has been forced to flee their homes.
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