Israel and Hamas reach Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal

Israel and Hamas on Wednesday reached a ceasefire and hostage release deal to end a 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, which has wreaked destruction and inflamed tensions across the region.

News of the agreement prompted joyful demonstrations in the streets in both Israel and the Gaza enclave late Wednesday, local time, setting the stage to end a conflict that has killed around 1,200 people in the Jewish state and more than 46,000 people in the blockaded Gaza territory, according to figures from Israeli and Palestinian health authorities.

Speaking at the White House, President Joe Biden said the deal would be implemented in three phases, which could start as early as Sunday, Jan. 19.

The Israeli security cabinet must still vote on the agreement before its implementation, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog calling on the government to “accept and approve it” during an address to the nation from his office.

If approved, the first phase of the deal will include a full ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the populated areas of the Gaza enclave, Biden said.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani — whose country played a key mediation role throughout the latest negotiations and during the brokerage of a temporary pause in fighting in November 2023 — said that the first phase will last 42 days and will see Hamas release 33 Israeli captives taken during the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, in return for “a number of prisoners” currently jailed in Israeli.

During this first stage, a bolstered flow of relief and humanitarian aid will be deployed to all parts of the Gaza Strip, while hospitals and health centers will be rehabilitated and critical fuel supplies will make their way into the enclave, al Thani said at a press conference in Doha Wednesday.

Humanitarian organizations have previously warned of the risk of famine and epidemics in the Gaza Strip, as a result of the absence or destruction of food and water supplies and sanitation facilities.

Also during phase one, Palestinians will be permitted to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip, many of which have been destroyed during the past year and half of fighting. The return of civilians will be accompanied by a surge in humanitarian aid to the enclave, according to Biden.

Details of the second and third phases of the agreement will be finalized during the implementation of the first stage, al Thani said, with the U.S. noting that, should negotiations require more than six weeks, the temporary ceasefire will remain in place.

Biden said that any remaining living hostages will be released during this second phase. Likewise, Israeli soldiers will withdraw from the remaining areas of Gaza during that time, and “the ceasefire will become permanent.”

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri described the agreement as “a great gain,” Reuters reports.

CNBC has reached out to the Israeli prime minister’s office for comment.

International leaders and key figures welcomed the ceasefire agreement, with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt — another critical mediator in the truce talks — stressing in a Google-translated social media post “the importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, to confront the current catastrophic humanitarian situation, without any obstacles.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commended the deal and urged “all to facilitate the rapid, unhindered & safe humanitarian relief for all civilians in need,” pledging to “do whatever is humanly possible, aware of the serious challenges that we will be facing.”

“After 15 months of an unjustifiable ordeal, an immense relief for the people of Gaza, hope for the hostage and for their families,” French President Emmanuel Macron said, according to a CNBC translation. “A political solution must happen.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the “long-overdue news” and said that his country and its allies will “continue to be at the forefront of these crucial efforts to break the cycle of violence and secure long-term peace in the Middle East.”

The breakthrough came just days ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20 — a date seen by many as a de-facto deadline for mediation, after Trump vowed that there would be “hell to pay” unless Hamas released Israeli hostages by the time he took office.

The Israel Defense Forces posted a message related to the deal on X, writing “Wings of Freedom is the name given to the IDF’s preparations for the return of the hostages.”

The final phase of the deal will involve the implementation of a Gaza reconstruction plan.

With just days left in his term, Biden acknowledged that the hard work of executing this agreement will largely fall to the incoming Trump administration.

“These past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team,” the president said of his team and Trump’s. “As I prepare to leave office, our friends are strong, our enemies are weak, and there’s a genuine opportunity for a new future.”

Envoys for both President Joe Biden and Trump have been present at the latest rounds of negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the proposed deal was based on a framework that the Biden administration put forward in May.

Over the last several months, both Hamas and Israeli officials have broadly agreed on achieving a ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages held by the Gaza-based militant group.

But the enduring sticking point remained Hamas’ demand that a full hostage release must result in a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war, while Israel’s leaders held that the Gaza campaign must continue until Hamas is dismantled.