Ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas in Gaza

WASHINGTON — More than 15 months into Israel’s devastating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the two sides have agreed to a ceasefire deal that would pause fighting and free some Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, U.S. and Qatari officials said Wednesday.

“At long last, I can announce a ceasefire, and a hostage deal, has been reached between Israel and Hamas,” President Joe Biden said from the White House.

The guidelines of the hard-fought agreement were first presented by Biden last spring, but months of negotiations repeatedly failed to bring the two enemies together.

The ceasefire, which begins Sunday, starts with a six-week period during which fighting stops and hostages are released. During that period negotiations for a permanent end to the war will commence, Biden said.

“After 15 months of terror ... hostages will go home,” the president said. “And the Palestinian people have gone through hell. Too many people have died.”

Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, first announced the deal at a news conference in the Qatari capital, Doha. “We hope this will be the last page in these times of war,” he said. “We tell our brothers in Gaza, we will always support the Palestinian people.”

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian negotiators spent months holding extensive rounds of talks with Israeli and Hamas leaders to broker what the parties hope will bring at least a partial end to a conflict that has left more than 46,000 Palestinians dead, at least half of them women and children, Palestinian officials estimate.

Unusually, teams representing the Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump worked together to secure the deal and joined the other mediators. “We’ve been speaking as one team,” Biden said.

The war — which destabilized the Middle East and unleashed protests across the U.S. — began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, invaded southern Israel, killed more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped some 250 others. Most of the victims were civilians.

Israel immediately launched a relentless barrage of airstrikes and ground attacks that destroyed most of the coastal enclave’s houses, buildings, hospitals and infrastructure, bringing many survivors to the brink of starvation.

Under the deal, Israel and Hamas agree to an initial six-week halt to fighting. About a third of the 100 hostages remaining would be freed and as many as 1,000 Palestinians held by Israel would be released. A previous group of hostages and prisoners was released in November 2023.

Notably, Israeli troops will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip but will retreat away from populated areas. The more than 1 million Palestinians who have been displaced from their homes will be allowed to return — though only rubble awaits many — and humanitarian aid that has been partly blocked by Israel will be allowed to enter the strip. Sick and wounded Gazans will be helped to leave for medical care.

Israel believes that about 34 of the 100 remaining hostages in Gaza are dead. Those to be released are mostly older people, women, children and the infirm. Soldiers would not yet be released.

Biden proposed the framework for the ceasefire in May. It’s been delayed by both sides. Hamas has not wanted to accept anything short of a full end of Israeli occupation of and attacks on Gaza. Israel has refused to withdraw from the territory until it deems Hamas has been destroyed.

Next week’s Trump inauguration may have increased pressure. He has said publicly he wanted to see hostages released before he takes office and signaled he would not hold back Israel.

The deal still faces obstacles. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet must approve it, and given the far-right, recalcitrant members of that group, approval is not guaranteed.

Interjecting a note of caution, Netanyahu said Wednesday that not all details of the agreement — expected to be voted on Thursday by the Cabinet — had yet been settled.

“Several items in the framework have yet to be finalized,” his office said in a statement Wednesday night.

Still, the Israeli leader — who has worked assiduously throughout the conflict to placate hard-line elements of his coalition — claimed credit for wringing final concessions from Hamas.

His office said the prime minister’s “firm stance” had resulted in a last-minute agreement by the militant group regarding the deployment of Israeli forces in a narrow border strip dividing Gaza from Egypt.

Hamas, in a statement, chalked the agreement up to “the legendary resilience of our great Palestinian people.” The organization, which has military and political factions, has controlled Gaza for nearly two decades, building a vast network of underground tunnels, from which it continues to operate. It has been dramatically weakened in this conflict, but U.S. officials say the group, which Washington regards as a terrorist organization, has been restocking its forces with new recruits.

One looming question is what happens when the six-week phase ends. Biden said the agreement calls for the ceasefire to remain in place even if further steps are not yet agreed to, and cites as the ultimate goal a complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces and the return of all Gaza territory to Gazans.

But many members of the Netanyahu government have vowed to return to fighting if they believe Hamas continues to pose a threat. Some also advocate a permanent occupation of the coastal enclave.

By the six-week mark of the deal, with Trump in the White House, it seems less likely the U.S. would make a strong effort to restrain Israel.

The Biden plan also envisioned a “credible” path to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as an eventual outcome. Trump has never supported Palestinian sovereignty.

For the families of captives in Gaza, word of the diplomatic breakthrough brought a burst of hope and relief, but also a strong sense that it was far too early for unbridled rejoicing. And for some, the implementation of the accord will bring crushing confirmation that their loved ones did not survive.

“Deep anxiety and concerns accompany us regarding the possibility that the agreement might not be fully implemented, leaving hostages behind,” said a statement from an Israeli umbrella group representing the families.

The group, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, expressed gratitude to both Biden and Trump for the breakthrough.

Separately, the families of U.S. citizens among the hostages issued a joint statement saying they were “deeply grateful” for the agreement, but pointing out that because it will be implemented in phases, the coming days and weeks would be “just as painful for our families as the entirety of our loved ones’ horrific ordeals.”

There are seven dual U.S.-Israeli citizens among the hostages, four of whom are believed to be dead, according to the Israeli military. Biden said he expected at least one American to be included in the initial tranche of freed hostages.

In Gaza, where the onset of winter has brought particular misery, there was rejoicing at the prospect of a halt to hostilities, with horns honking and Palestinian flags waving in rubble-filled streets. But many questioned whether the accord was genuine and the violence would really end.

Gaza’s civil defense called on people to refrain from the custom of firing off celebratory rounds of gunfire, because people living in tents were unprotected from stray bullets.

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(Wilkinson and King reported from Washington, Bulos from Beirut.)

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