Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 42-day ceasefire and hostage release in the Gaza Strip, President Joe Biden and other officials announced Wednesday, raising hopes that there could soon be an end to more than a year of war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of the enclave.
The ceasefire was set to take effect Sunday, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani of Qatar, a mediating country, told reporters Wednesday evening. He added, though, that both sides were still working on concluding some of the logistical matters.
The agreement needs to be formally ratified by the Israeli Cabinet and the government, two senior Israeli officials said. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that a number of details in the agreement remained unresolved but that it was hoped that they would be worked out Wednesday night.
Al Thani said the first phase of the ceasefire deal would see Israeli forces withdraw to the east, away from populated areas. Some 33 hostages would be released over the course of the 42 days, he said. He did not say how many Palestinian prisoners would be released.
About 100 hostages are thought to still be in Gaza, although Israeli authorities believe around 35 of those people are dead.
Biden said that in addition to the hostage releases, Palestinians will be able to return to their homes and will have access to a surge of humanitarian supplies.
“Too many innocent people have died; too many communities have been destroyed,” he said in a speech at the White House. “In this deal, the people of Gaza can finally recover and rebuild.”
Hamas confirmed the ceasefire deal in a statement on Telegram, calling it an “achievement for our people” and hailing the “legendary resilience” of Palestinians in Gaza in the face of the war.
President-elect Donald Trump also announced that a hostage deal had been reached, writing on social media that “THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY.” Trump had threatened severe consequences unless Israel and Hamas reached an agreement before his Jan. 20 inauguration, which some officials credited with helping to advance the negotiations.
The nearly uninterrupted fighting in Gaza has left Hamas severely battered, with many of its military commanders killed, including its longtime leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in the fall.
The ceasefire deal is broadly similar to a three-phase framework publicized by Biden in late May, according to several officials familiar with the talks. Under that May proposal, Israel and Hamas would first observe a six-week ceasefire in which Hamas would release women, older men and ill hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians jailed by Israel, and 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief would enter Gaza daily.
In Israel, some hard-line members of Netanyahu’s government have also voiced opposition to the deal. But Wednesday, Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, said he believed that a majority would sign off on an agreement if it came to a Cabinet vote.
The deal on the table comes after months of shuttle diplomacy to end the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. Since Israel began its military campaign in response to the attack, at least 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health officials there.
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