Here are the main points of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
Reuters | Posted: January 14, 2025 2:30 PM | Last Updated: January 15
Agreement includes phased release of hostages, Israeli army withdrawal, increased Gaza aid
Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to pause the war in Gaza and release hostages, mediators said Wednesday.
The deal promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases 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 would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a territory ravaged by 15 months of war.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced the agreement in Doha, the site of weeks of painstaking negotiations.
He said the deal would go into effect on Sunday. That's when the first group of hostages could be freed, said a senior U.S. official involved in the talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that it hoped "details will be finalized tonight."
An Israeli official familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said those details centre on confirming the list of Palestinian prisoners who are to be freed. Any agreement must be approved by Netanyahu's cabinet.
Here are the main points of the agreement, according to Reuters.
3-phase deal begins with release of 33 hostages
The three-phase agreement would begin with the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period.
It includes women, children, older adults and wounded civilians, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.
Israel believes most are alive but has had no official confirmation from Hamas.
- Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women (soldiers and civilians), children and men over 50. Hamas will release female hostages and under 19s first, followed by men over 50.
- Israel will release 30 Palestinian detainees for every civilian hostage and 50 Palestinian detainees for every Israeli female soldier Hamas releases.
- Israel will release all Palestinian women and children under 19 detained since Oct. 7, 2023, by the end of the first phase. The total number of Palestinians released will depend on hostages released, and could be between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian detainees, including men, women and children.
- Surviving hostages will be released first, followed by the remains of dead hostages.
- On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said Americans will be part of the Phase 1 hostage release.
Israeli troops expected to pull back toward border
Israel will not fully withdraw its troops until all of the hostages have been returned, but there will be a phased pullback, with Israeli forces remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
- A six-week initial ceasefire phase includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from central Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.
- An official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters the deal requires 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the ceasefire, 50 of them carrying fuel, with 300 of the trucks allocated to the north.
Israel allows aid into the enclave, but there have been disputes over the amount allowed in, as well as the amount that reaches people in need, with looting by criminal gangs an increasing problem.
The issue of who will control Gaza
Who will run Gaza after the war is one of the unknowns of the negotiations. It appears that the current round of talks left the issue out of the proposal because of its complexity and the likelihood it would hold up a limited deal.
Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It has also rejected administration of Gaza by the Palestinian Authority, the Western-backed body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that exercises limited sovereignty in the occupied West Bank.
WATCH | Israel, Hamas reach Gaza ceasefire deal in 15-month war, mediators say:
Israel has also said from the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza that it will retain security control over the enclave after the fighting ends.
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but efforts to find alternatives to the main factions among civil society or clan leaders have proved largely fruitless.
However, there have been discussions between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States over a provisional administration that would run Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge.