Israel, Hamas reach ceasefire and hostage release deal to halt more than a year fighting in the Gaza StripQatar’s prime minister announced on Wednesday. Another source with knowledge of the negotiations told CBS News that an agreement had been reached after the Qatari prime minister met with Hamas negotiators, and separately with Israeli negotiators, in his office.
The agreement comes after a week of intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, the US and Egypt.
As news of the deal broke, crowds gathered in Deir al-Bala, Gaza, and celebratory gunshots rang out.
A draft of the agreement had been agreed in principle Earlier this week, Arab, American and Israeli officials told CBS News. met establishes a gradual framework for a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages still held by Hamas for a larger number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It also includes access to humanitarian aid in Gaza and the eventual ability of Palestinians in Gaza to return to the areas they fled.
Intense negotiations had been underway in Doha in recent weeks, with President Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, staying in the region for the better part of a month. McGurk has coordinated closely with President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Mr. Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday about the negotiations.
In Israel, the families of the roughly 100 hostages still being held after the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which the group and allied militants killed around 1,200 people, have held regular demonstrations to demand a negotiated settlement for Israel release of their loved ones. The Israel Defense Forces have said they believe around a third of the hostages have already died.
“We are deeply grateful that there is finally an agreement between Israel and Hamas to bring our loved ones (Omer, Edan, Sagui, Itay, Keith, Gad and Judi) home,” the families of the American hostages in Gaza said . statement “We have waited for 467 days while our family members suffer life-threatening injuries, abuse, torture and sexual violence. We thank President Biden, President-elect Trump and their teams for their constructive efforts to possible”.
More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war began, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and most of Gaza’s population is displaced and lives in camps. Humanitarian groups have been struggling to deliver aidand experts have warned of famine.
What’s in the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement?
Details of the deal have not yet been officially announced, but it appears to build on a deal outlined by Mr Biden last year.
According to a draft from media sources, seen by CBS News earlier this week, it would consist of three phases, each lasting about 42 days.
During the first phase, Hamas would release 33 women and children hostages, as well as hostages over the age of 50, according to the draft seen by CBS News. For every woman or child hostage returned to Israel, Israel would release 30 Palestinian women and children from its prisons. Hamas would release all hostages over the age of 50 and Israel would release 30 Palestinian prisoners over the age of 50.
A senior Israeli official told CBS News that the release of the Israeli hostages would begin on the first day of a 42-day ceasefire period.
On that first day, Hamas would release three hostages, according to the draft seen by CBS News. On the seventh day, Hamas would release four hostages. Thereafter, Hamas would release three hostages taken from Israel every seven days, starting with the living and then returning the bodies of the dead.
During the hostage and prisoner swap, there would be a complete ceasefire in Gaza to allow aid to flow in, according to the draft seen by CBS News. International aid groups and the United Nations would resume operations in Gaza and begin rebuilding the enclave’s infrastructure, such as water, electricity and sewage systems.
The second phase of the deal would involve the release of all remaining Israeli hostages and the withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza, according to the document seen by CBS News.
The third phase would include the exchange of bodies of hostages and prisoners, the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza and the opening of its borders.
Margaret Brennan, Marwan Al-Ghoul, Mais Al-Bayaa and Michal Ben-Gal contributed to this report.
This is breaking news and will be updated.