Negotiators have reached a phased deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, an official briefed on the negotiations says, after 15 months of bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and inflamed the Middle East.
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The complex accord, which has not yet been formally announced, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and release of hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the official told Reuters.
US President Joe Biden later confirmed a deal had been struck and the prime minister of Qatar, one of the key mediators, said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday.
Join me as I deliver remarks on the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. — President Biden (@POTUS) https://t.co/FrHGXb8nDiJanuary 15, 2025
Palestinians celebrated in streets across Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip - where they have faced an acute humanitarian crisis with severe shortages of food, water and fuel - as explosions from new Israeli air strikes continued.
"I am happy, yes, I am crying, but those are tears of joy," said Ghada, a displaced mother of five.
"We are being reborn. With every hour of delay Israel conducted a new massacre. I hope it is all over now."
Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip has left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble. (AP PHOTO)
Families of Israeli hostages and their friends celebrated the deal in the streets of Tel Aviv.
"The Israeli government must stand by its aims to return all the hostages and ensure from Gaza there is no more threat to the state of Israel ... so there won't be other parents standing here, just like me, in one or two or three years, being interviewed about their kidnapped children," Tzvika Mor, the father of a captive, told Israel's Channel 12.
In Israel, the return of the hostages may ease some of the public anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government over the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that led to the deadliest single day in the country's history.
Netanyahu's office said Hamas had dropped a last-minute demand and there were still a number of unresolved items in the deal.
"We hope that the details will be closed tonight," it said in a statement.
A proposed truce is expected to include a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. (AP PHOTO)
Hamas told Reuters its delegation had handed mediators its approval for the ceasefire agreement and return of hostages.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said following the talks in Doha that the ceasefire is set to begin on Sunday and last for 42 days initially.
He called for calm in the Gaza Strip between now and January 19 when the ceasefire deal takes effect.
Phase one of the deal entails the release of 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children and men over 50.
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 the Gaza Strip.
The third stage is expected to address the return of all remaining dead bodies and the start of the Gaza Strip's reconstruction supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
The pact follows months of on-off negotiations conducted by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States, and comes just ahead of the January 20 inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.
Trump said he would use the ceasefire deal as momentum to expand the Abraham Accords - US-backed agreements struck during his first presidency in 2017-21 that normalised Israel's relations with several Arab countries.
Trump, who repeatedly threatened there would be "hell to pay" if hostages were not released ahead of his January 20 inauguration, said he was "thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home".
If successful, the planned phased ceasefire would halt fighting that has reduced much of heavily urbanised Gaza Strip to ruin and displaced most of the tiny enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million.
The death toll is still rising daily.
That in turn could defuse tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has stoked conflict in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq and raised fears of all-out war between regional foes Israel and Iran.
If all goes smoothly, the Palestinians, Arab countries and Israel must still agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, a formidable challenge involving security guarantees for Israel and many billions of dollars in investment for reconstruction.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was cutting a visit to Europe short and flying home overnight to take part in security cabinet and government votes on the deal - meaning the votes would likely be by or on Thursday.
Israeli troops invaded the Gaza Strip after Hamas-led gunmen broke through security barriers and burst into Israeli border-area communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 soldiers and civilians and abducting more than 250 foreign and Israeli hostages.
Israel's air and ground war in the Gaza Strip has since killed more than 46,000 people, according to Gazan health ministry figures, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people struggling through the winter cold in tents and makeshift shelters.
"After too many months of conflict, we feel tremendous relief for the hostages, for their families and for the people of Gaza," Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said.
"Let's hope this ceasefire will put an end to the fighting and mark the beginning of a sustained peace."
with DPA and AP
Australian Associated Press