Israel and Hamas have agreed a ceasefire to end the 15-month war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages, mediators said, raising hopes for an end to the devastating conflict that has rocked the Middle East and the wider world.
But despite the celebrations that erupted across the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office warned that some details still needed to be finalized by Wednesday evening.
The multi-phase agreement, which is scheduled to enter into force on Sunday, a day before Donald Trump returns to the post of US president, was announced by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin al-Thani. However, he noted that the parties still have to give their final consent.
The agreement offers hope of halting — and potentially ending — a brutal war that has become the deadliest chapter in the decades-long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leaving Gaza in ruins, destroying Israeli society and pushing the Middle East to the brink of full-scale war.
The fighting was sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which fighters from the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostage, in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that killed more than 46,000 people and sparked a humanitarian disaster in the enclave.
Previous attempts by the US, Qatar and Egypt 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 — have repeatedly failed when Israel and Hamas refused to make the necessary concessions. .
But the re-election of Trump – who has threatened “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released before his inauguration – has injected new momentum into long-stalled talks.
Trump was among the first leaders to hail the deal on Wednesday, writing on his Truth Social platform before the official announcement: “WE HAVE A MIDDLE EAST HOSTAGE DEAL. THEY WILL BE FREED SOON.”
He added that his national security team “will continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to ensure that Gaza NEVER again becomes a safe haven for terrorists.”
In his own congratulatory comments on the deal, US President Joe Biden described the talks in Doha as “one of the most difficult negotiations I have ever experienced”.
He added that the deal would “stop the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.”
Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with Trump on Wednesday night, thanking him for his help in freeing the hostages, and that the two agreed to meet in Washington “soon.”
The statement added that Netanyahu is “committed to returning all hostages, however he can.” Netanyahu also thanked Biden.
Earlier, the Israeli prime minister’s office said that several parts of the deal were “left open.” . . and we hope that the details will be finalized tonight”.
It later added that Netanyahu would make an official announcement about the deal only after “the details of the agreement are finalized.”
A person close to the negotiations said the deal was reached after the Qatari prime minister met separately with Hamas and Israeli negotiators in a final attempt to reach an agreement.
But the person added that while Hamas had agreed to the deal, giving in to one of its last demands, Israel had meanwhile “raised a new outstanding issue”. They said, “The mediators are working to resolve it.”
An Israeli official said the outstanding details, which Netanyahu’s office said still need to be finalized, relate to the identity of those Palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange for the hostages.
Israel’s government is due to vote on the deal, which is based on a three-phase proposal first floated by Biden last year. Far-right ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have expressed opposition but are not expected 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 freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and a dramatic increase in humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
The two sides will start negotiations on the second phase no later than the 16th day of the ceasefire. 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 would also lead to a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
The final phase would involve the return of all the remaining bodies of the dead hostages and the reconstruction of Gaza, under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
Talks intensified in mid-December after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A senior Biden administration official said one problem hindering the completion of negotiations is Hamas’s refusal to admit how many hostages it is holding and which will be released in the first phase.
The Palestinian group agreed on a list of about 33 hostages in late December, hastening the end of the talks.
Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, was joined by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in the final days of the talks. A senior Biden administration official called it a “historic and critical partnership” to finalize the deal.
Talks continued into the early hours of Wednesday morning, with McGurk, Witkoff and Egyptian and Qatari officials upstairs with Israeli negotiators and Hamas downstairs, hammering out dozens of details.
Mediators will hold a meeting in Cairo on Thursday focused on “implementing the deal in all aspects,” a US administration official said.
Abu Shukri, a community organizer based in Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp, said people in the neighborhood lined the streets and balconies in anticipation of the ceasefire announcement. As the news reached them, people shouted and fired in the air in celebration.
“We just thank God,” Abu Shukri said of the news. “But we gave our children, we gave our parents.”
Additional reporting by Malaika Tapper in Beirut and Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv