Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal and hostage release, mediators claimed, but President Benjamin Netanyahu says the final details are still being sorted out.
The announcement comes after multiple mediators had said Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release dozens of hostages after more than 15 months of devastating war.
The deal which is set to enter into effect on Sunday, follows weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, and promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes.
Phase one of the agreement will go on for 42 days and will include a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the east away from populated areas Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
It also would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a devastated territory.
Three officials from the US and one from Hamas confirmed that a deal had been reached, while a senior Israeli official said details are still being ironed out.
All three US officials requested anonymity to discuss the contours of the deal before the official announcement by mediators in Doha.
President Joe Biden was preparing to address the breakthrough agreement later Thursday, officials said.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal and hostage release, mediators announced on Wednesday
Palestinians react as they wait for news of a ceasefire deal with Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 15, 2025
People react to the reports of a possible Gaza cease fire and hostage release deal being reached during a rally calling for the return of hostages held in the Gaza Strip on January 15, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel
An Israeli Black Hawk military helicopter lands inside North Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas on January 14
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025
Any agreement still needs to be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s Cabinet, but is expected to go into effect in the coming days.
Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children, and men over 50-years-old as part of the initial six-week ceasefire deal.
In exchange, Israel will release 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails for every Israeli female soldier released by Hamas and 30 for other hostages.
Negotiations on implementing the second phase will begin by the 16th day of phase one and it is 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 all remaining dead bodies and the start of Gaza’s reconstruction supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
More than 100 hostages were freed from Gaza in a weeklong truce in November 2023.
As news of the possible ceasefire deal was announced, there were reports of Palestinians celebrating in Khan Younis in Gaza.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal is ‘long-overdue news’ and paid tribute to ‘the British people who were murdered by Hamas’ adding: ‘We will continue to mourn and remember them.’
US President-elect Donald Trump also confirmed the deal in a statement to his Truth Social platform.
‘We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!’ he wrote.
It comes after President Joe Biden – in the final days of his presidency – said a deal was ‘on the brink’.
Implementation of the agreement will be agreed by Qatar, Egypt and the US.
But the sister of two British citizens murdered in the Israel-Hamas conflict has said ‘there will never be any closure’ until all Israeli hostages are returned, following reports of a ceasefire.
Ayelet Svatitzky, 47, said the reports emerging on Wednesday were a ‘relief’ after her brothers Roi and Nadav Popplewell both died and her mother Channah Peri was previously taken as a hostage.
Speaking from Israel, she told the PA news agency: ‘We’ve been praying for a deal to be signed, and every hostage [being] released is a relief for them, for the families and for us.
As news of the possible ceasefire deal was announced, there were reports of Palestinians celebrating in Khan Younis in Gaza
Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the ceasefire announcement as they take part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israe
Israeli military vehicles move inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, on January 7
‘Of course, it’s too late for my brother, we will never be able to save them. We were able to bring him for burial, and so we know how crucial it is for for a deal to be complete and for all hostages to be brought back, for the live hostages to be released to their families and to start the healing and rehabilitating.’
Asked if the reported ceasefire would bring her family closure, Ms Svatitzky said: ‘There will never be any closure for us until all the hostages are back.
‘We’ll be worried and we’re not able to move on until the last hostage is home.’
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘The announcement of a ceasefire is, at last, a moment of hope after many months of darkness and despair for the region.
‘As this ceasefire comes into effect, Palestinians will hope that the killing will now stop. Israeli hostages will finally be returned their loved ones again after being held in captivity for 15 months.
‘The work of flooding Gaza with the aid which it has desperately needed for months must begin in earnest.’
Sir Ed Davey continued: ‘Now, it is incumbent on the UK and the entire international community to do all it can to ensure that this ceasefire does not turn out to be temporary truce.
‘Otherwise we will not be able to get the remaining hostages home and finally alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
‘We must look back on this moment as the first step on the road to a lasting peace.
Relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza gather in front of the Ministry of Defense to hold demonstration demanding a ceasefire and a hostage swap agreement in Gaza yesterday
A man waves Palestinian flags as Palestinians react to news on a ceasefire deal with Israel, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, January 15, 2025
‘That two-state solution, with a recognised Palestinian state based in 1967 borders, is the only way to deliver the dignity and security which Israelis and Palestinians deserve.’
Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.
Still, the announcement offered the first sign of hope in months that Israel and Hamas may be winding down the most deadly and destructive war they’ve ever fought, a conflict that has destabilised the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
In Israel, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening, calling for a deal to be completed.
Many held posters of hostages held by Hamas, others hoisted candles in the air.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said he was determined to destroy Hamas after the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 people and seized about 250 hostages when they entered Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023.
The US, along with Egypt and Qatar, have brokered months of indirect talks between the bitter enemies that finally culminated in this latest deal.
It comes after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November, after more than a year of conflict linked to the war in the Gaza.
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for action to secure the release of Israelis held hostage in Gaza since the October 2023, in front of the Israeli defence ministry in Tel Aviv on January 15, 2025
Supporters of Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 2023 attack by Hamas, hold torches as they attend a protest to demand a deal to bring every hostage home at once, amid Gaza ceasefire negotiations, in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 15, 2025
Israel said on January 15 that several points in the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal still needed to be resolved but expected them to be ‘finalised tonight’
Palestinians react to news on a ceasefire deal with Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 15, 2025
Israel responded with a brutal air and ground offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
They do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.
UN and international relief organisations estimate that some 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times.
They say tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and hospitals are barely functioning.
Experts have warned that famine may be underway in northern Gaza, where Israel launched a major offensive in early October, displacing tens of thousands of residents.
‘The best day in my life and the life of the Gaza people,’ Abed Radwan, a Palestinian father of three, said of the ceasefire deal. ‘Thank God. Thank God.’
Radwan, who has been displaced from the town of Beit Lahiya for over a year and shelters in Gaza City, said he will try to return to his hometown, and ‘rebuild my house, and rebuild Beit Lahiya.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.