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DOHA, Qatar — Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.
The three-phase ceasefire deal promises the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and it will allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It also will flood desperately needed humanitarian aid into a territory ravaged by 15 months of war.
The prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the ceasefire would go into effect on Sunday. He made the announcement in the Qatari capital of Doha, the site of weeks of painstaking negotiations.
President Joe Biden speaking from Washington touted the deal, saying the ceasefire will stay in place as long as Israel and Hamas remain at the negotiating table over a long-term truce. Biden credited months of "dogged and painstaking American diplomacy" for landing the deal, while noting that his administration and President-elect Donald Trump's team had been "speaking as one" in the latest negotiations.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the last details were still being ironed out and that it hoped they "will be finalized tonight."
An Israeli official familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said those details center on confirming the list of Palestinian prisoners who are to be freed. Any agreement must be approved by Netanyahu's Cabinet.
Once the first phase of the deal takes effect, it is expected to deliver an initial six-week halt to fighting along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether.
Over those six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, though it's unclear if all are alive.
It remained unclear exactly when and how many displaced Palestinians would be able to return to their homes and whether the agreement would lead to a complete end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza — key Hamas demands for releasing the remaining captives.
Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which killed some 1,200 in Israel and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a fierce offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.
More than 100 hostages were freed from Gaza in a weeklong truce in November 2023.
The U.S., along with Egypt and Qatar, have brokered months of indirect talks between the bitter enemies that finally culminated in this latest deal. It comes after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November, after more than a year of conflict linked to the war in the Gaza.
After 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones.
–The Hostage Families Forum
U.N. and international relief organizations estimate that some 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. They say tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and hospitals are barely functioning. Experts have warned that famine may be underway in northern Gaza.
Abed Radwan, a Palestinian father of three, called the ceasefire deal "the best day in my life and the life of the Gaza people ... Thank God. Thank God."
Radwan, who has been displaced from the town of Beit Lahiya for over a year and shelters in Gaza City, said he hopes to return and to rebuild his home. As he spoke to the Associated Press by phone, his voice was overshadowed by the celebrations of fellow Gazans.
"People are crying here. They don't believe it's true," he said.
In Israel, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, calling for a deal to be completed. Many held posters of hostages held by Hamas, others hoisted candles in the air.
As the deal was announced, some people were unaware that it had gone through. Sharone Lifschitz, whose father Oded is being held in Gaza, told the Associated Press by phone she was stunned and grateful but wouldn't believe it until she saw all the hostages come home.
"I'm so desperate to see them if by some miracle my father has survived," she said.
The Hostage Families Forum, which has long pressed Israeli leaders to make a deal that would bring the captives home, said it welcomed Wednesday's announcement with joy and relief.
"After 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones," the group said in a statement.
People are crying here. They don't believe it's true
–Abed Radwan, Palestinian father of three
Biden, who has provided crucial military aid to Israel but expressed exasperation over civilian deaths in Gaza, announced the outline of the three-phase ceasefire agreement on May 31. The agreement eventually agreed to followed that framework.
He said the first phase would last for six weeks and include a "full and complete ceasefire," a withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, older adults and wounded people, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian assistance would surge, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza each day.
The second and most difficult phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding from the devastation caused by the war.
Hamas had been demanding assurances for a permanent end to the war and the complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, has repeatedly said it would not halt the war until it destroys Hamas' military and governing capabilities.
With Biden's days in office numbered and President-elect Donald Trump set to take over, both sides had been under heavy pressure to agree to a deal.
Trump celebrated the agreement in a posting on his Truth Social social media platform: "WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!"
Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said Biden deserves praise for continuing to push the talks. But Trump's threats to Hamas and his efforts to "cajole" Netanyahu deserve credit as well.
"The ironic reality is that at a time of heightened partisanship even over foreign policy, the deal represents how much more powerful and influential U.S. foreign policy can be when it's bipartisan," Panikoff said.
Hezbollah's acceptance of a ceasefire in Lebanon after it had suffered heavy blows, and the overthrow of President Bashar Assad in Syria, were both major setbacks for Iran and its allies across the region, including Hamas, which was left increasingly isolated.
Contributing: Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and Matthew Lee
