Israel and Hamas reach deal on Gaza ceasefire and hostage release
WASHINGTON — A ceasefire deal has been reached to end 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to President Joe Biden and the prime minister of Qatar, which hosted weeks of intense negotiations.
The hard-won agreement will also free dozens of hostages held in Gaza, as well as Palestinians in Israeli jails, bringing the first real break in violence since a weeklong truce expired Dec. 1, 2023.
The deal will take effect Sunday, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said in a news conference in his country’s capital, Doha.
Under the phased deal, Israeli forces would withdraw to the Gaza border, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes and for the transfer of hostages and prisoners. Large amounts of humanitarian aid would be shipped to the enclave and hospitals and health care centers would be rebuilt, he said.
In a statement, Biden hailed “many months of intensive diplomacy” by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. “My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done,” the outgoing president said in part.
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In subsequent on-camera remarks, Biden said he was “deeply satisfied this day has finally come, for the sake of the people of Israel and the families waiting in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza, who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war.”
The news follows weeks of talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, amid a brutal winter for civilians in Gaza, as well as dramatic developments across the Middle East that have dealt setbacks to Iran, an Israeli foe.
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Under the plan, Israel will withdraw its forces eastward from densely populated areas of Gaza, according to a portion of the deal shared by Hamas and written in English.
Hamas, meanwhile, will release 33 hostages in exchange for 100 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, according to the text. Israel will also release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who were not involved in the Oct. 7 attacks, the text says, and an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners will also be released abroad or in Gaza.
“We are very happy to reach a deal today to stop the aggression against our people, but unfortunately we were unable to reach the same deal last May,” senior Hamas official Basem Naim told NBC News.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office touted what it characterized as a compromise on Hamas’ part.
“In light of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s firm stance, Hamas has backed down on its demand at the last minute to change the deployment of forces on” the Philadelphi Corridor, the Israeli name for the narrow strip of land between Gaza and Egypt.
“However, there are still several unresolved clauses in the outline, and we hope that the details will be finalized tonight,” the prime minister’s office added.
Gil Dickmann, cousin of deceased hostage Carmel Gat, told NBC News that it was “very exciting” to see that finally hostages were going to be returned.
“It’s also really sad to know that Carmel could have and should have been among them, but a deal didn’t come in time and she was murdered in captivity,” he said.
Earlier, a diplomatic source in Washington told NBC News that Netanyahu was preparing to meet with his security Cabinet, where approval of the deal was expected quickly. He would then take the pact to the full Cabinet, which is also expected to approve.
Israel’s Supreme Court would have 24 hours to permit an appeal, so the earliest a ceasefire could go into effect would be Friday, the source said. The first group of hostages would come out Sunday, the person added.
Israel launched its military campaign in the Palestinian enclave after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. Just more than 100 were released in late November 2023 during a pause in hostilities, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The war has shattered Gaza’s infrastructure and displaced most of its population. Health officials in the enclave say more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces — most of them civilians.
The chances for a ceasefire seemed vanishingly small after many false dawns in recent months.
The Biden administration had called for a final effort before the president leaves office, and many in the region and in Washington viewed Trump’s inauguration Monday as an unofficial deadline.