Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement to end the war in Gaza and release hostages, mediators said on Wednesday, according to reports from Reuters and The Associated Press.
It comes more than 15 months into a deadly campaign that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the final details were still being worked out in a cease-fire deal with Hamas, without saying whether an agreement had been reached.
The agreement, which has not yet been formally announced, outlines an initial six-week ceasefire and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas. exchange of Palestinian detainees held by Israel, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters.
The deal still needs to be approved by Netanyahu's cabinet, but is expected to take effect in the coming days. It also does not guarantee lasting peace.
Three US officials and one from Hamas confirmed that an agreement had been reached, while a senior Israeli official said details were still being worked out. The three officials from the United States asked to remain anonymous to discuss the forms of the agreement before the official announcement by mediators in Doha.
Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement that will end the war in Gaza and see hostages released, according to mediators cited in a report by Reuters and The Associated Press. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, however, has warned that final details have not yet been resolved.
US president Donald Trump confirmed that an agreement had been reached to release hostages in Gaza.
“We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released soon,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
You can read the main points of the draft agreement here.
Phase 1 of the agreement, which will last 42 days, will include the release of 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children and men over 50.
Israel will gradually reduce forces in the Philadelphia corridor adjacent to Egypt in the first phase, with forces withdrawing completely no later than 50 days, according to a copy of the agreement Reuters saw. The corridor has been a stumbling block in past efforts to secure a ceasefire deal, with Egypt demanding Israel pull out after seizing it in May.
Negotiations to implement the second phase will begin by the 16th day of Phase 1 and are expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The third phase is expected to address the return of the remaining dead bodies and the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza, led by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
'Breakthrough' came in peace talks earlier this week
The agreement comes after months of negotiations by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the support of the United States, and comes just before Trump's inauguration on January 20.
Mediators handed Israel and Hamas a final version of the deal on Monday, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters, after a midnight “disappointment” in talks attended by aides to both US President Joe Biden and Trump.
Mediators had met several times in recent months but stepped up their work in hopes of finalizing a deal before Biden leaves the White House on Monday.
In the past, hosts were said to be one key point in the negotiations. Israel insisted on maintaining a military presence in Gaza, but Hamas refused to release prisoners until the troops withdrew.
Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement that calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the gradual release of hostages captured in the deadly attacks on October 7, Inter reported. media on Wednesday, according to reports from Reuters and The Associated Press.
Canada has long called for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an urgent flow of humanitarian aid. The country joined Australia and New Zealand in July to ask for a breaksaying the countries were still “unclear in our criticism of Hamas” but that civilians in Gaza “cannot be made to pay the price.” “
Last year, Canada too vote for a non-binding United Nations resolution calls for a humanitarian pause – representing a move away from its long practice of voting with Israel on key UN resolutions.
Inauguration day in the US was widely seen as an unofficial date for reaching an agreement. Trump had warned that “all hell” would break loose if hostages were not freed by the time his second term began.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said negotiators wanted to ensure Trump continued to support the deal on the table, so it was “vital” that Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff be the attended talks, along with Biden's ambassador, Brett McGurk.
Israel launched its air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and injuring more than 250 hostage back to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
Israel has said that around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, but it is unclear how many are alive.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has said that Israeli attacks have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, making it the deadliest war in decades of conflict between the two. The Israeli campaign has also pushed most of Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes and left most of the coastal strip, including its health care infrastructure, in ruins.
WATCH | Aid groups say Gaza is in dire need of a ceasefire:
For those remaining in the strip, Israel's strict blockade has prevented access to basic necessities such as food and medicine. The Integrated Food Security Level Classification, or IPC – an initiative controlled by United Nations agencies and major relief agencies – said in November “there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent” in parts of the northern strip.
Israel has denied allegations of famine. He called the IPC a “very high class in misinformation, bias and dishonest reporting,” according to his report from the United Nations.
There have been several temporary pauses in fighting until military aid could be delivered, and in November 2023, there were days a pause in the release of some hostages in Gaza and detainees in Israeli prisons.
The 15-month war has also led to violence in Lebanon.
Israel invaded part of the country this fall to try to weaken Hezbollah – a militant group that had launched almost daily airstrikes against Israel since October 7, 2023, because of its relationship with Hamas.
More than 3,960 people had been killed in Lebanon at the end of November, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Israel said the violence claimed the lives of more than 70 people in Israel – more than half of them civilians – and dozens of other soldiers in southern Lebanon.
The two previously agreed to start a truce on November 27, but both sides were after that the promise was broken.
