Israel, Hamas reach Gaza ceasefire, hostage deal, confirms Qatar PM

Thousands of Gazans celebrate on January 15 as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas, aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in the Palestinian territory. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

DOHA, Qatar — Mediator Qatar said Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza starting on Sunday and a hostage and prisoner exchange after 15 months of war.

Thirty-three Israeli hostages will be released in the first phase of the agreement that could become a “permanent ceasefire”, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said.

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Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal

“The two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal on the prisoner and the hostage swap, and (the mediators) announce a ceasefire in the hopes of reaching a permanent ceasefire between the two sides,” he said.

“We hope that this will be the last page of the war, and we hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement,” the prime minister added.

During the initial, 42-day ceasefire, 33 hostages seized in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel will be released, “including civilian women and female recruits, as well as children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded”.

First phase

Also in the first phase, Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza to “allow for the swap of prisoners, as well as the swap of remains and the return of the displaced people to their residences”, the prime minister said.

The number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the Israeli hostages in the second and third phases would be “finalised” during the inital 42 days, he added.

Joint mediators Qatar, the US and Egypt will monitor the ceasefire deal through a body based in Cairo, Sheikh Mohammed said, urging “calm” in Gaza before the agreement comes into force.

“We hope that over the next few days there will not be any aggressions or any military operations,” he said.

There was “a clear mechanism to negotiate phase two and three”, and that the details of the agreements would be published “in the next couple of days, once the details are finalised”, Sheikh Mohammed added.