Officials Announce Pending Ceasefire Agreement Between Israel and Hamas
Mediators announced a proposed agreement for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday, but the deal remains pending approval from the Israeli Cabinet. The agreement would pause fighting between the two parties in the Gaza Strip, as well as allow for the release of dozens of hostages.
The deal would result in a multiphase ceasefire and commit both sides to ending the war, which began more than 15 months ago after militia members of Hamas attacked sites in southern Israel on 7 October 2023. The attacks killed at least 1,200 people, and more than 250 others were abducted.
The proposal was announced separately by both U.S. President Joe Biden and Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. Although the proposed agreement is reported to be the same as one made in May 2024, the current deal is the result of weeks of indirect negotiations in Doha between Israel and Hamas, with the help of facilitators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.
If approved, the ceasefire would begin within days. However, “several technical details about the agreement remain unclear, and it will require formal ratification by Israel’s cabinet before it can take effect,” NPR reported.
Although the agreement had the support of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, the cabinet did not vote on the proposal by the time of this article’s publication. Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas had held up the cabinet’s approval.
The cabinet will only meet to vote once Hamas pulls back demands for an added concession, according to Netanyahu. Details about this change, which Netanyahu described as reneging, have not been publicly shared.
One senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, said during a televised interview that there was no truth to Netanyahu’s claims and a member of Hamas’ political wing, Izzat al-Rishq, said that the group remained committed to the announced agreement.
Netanyahu “has simultaneously faced significant domestic political pressure from right-wing members of his coalition government, who have long opposed any kind of deal with Hamas—even though it would lead to the return of dozens of Israelis held captive inside Gaza since October 2023,” NPR reported. Some of these members have threatened to abandon the coalition if the deal were approved, which would probably result in the dissolution of Netanyahu’s government.
One faction of the Israeli government, Religious Zionism, issued a statement demanding a guarantee from Netanyahu that after an initial ceasefire and the return of hostages still held by Hamas, Israel would resume a full-scale military campaign until achieving all other military objectives, according to Al Jazeera.
The cabinet is expected to vote on the deal on Friday, 17 January.
The Deal
The agreement proposes three phases that would ultimately result in an end to the war.
The first phase would last six weeks and involve a complete ceasefire, with Israeli military forces withdrawing from all populated areas of Gaza. Several hostages still held by Hamas would also be freed, including women, U.S. citizens, the elderly, and any wounded. Meanwhile Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow for humanitarian assistance in Gaza to begin.
The second phase would involve a permanent end to the war, according to Biden. The ceasefire would remain in place, any male soldiers being held hostage would be released, and any remaining Israeli forces in the Gaza region would withdraw.
The third phase would include returning the remains of deceased hostages to their families. Also, reconstruction would begin in Gaza.
The Impact of the War
Since the beginning of the war, Israel’s militia efforts have resulted in the deaths of more than 46,000 Palestinians. New research released last week also found that the death toll in Gaza is likely significantly higher than original tallies. Health authorities in Gaza said that most of these deaths were women and children.
Once-populated areas of the Gaza Strip have been reduced to burned out buildings and rubble, with roughly 90 percent of its 2.3 million residents displaced and scattered.
Israel also targeted supplies and aid attempting to enter the region after the outbreak of the war, severely limiting the amount of food allowed to enter Gaza. Food security experts warned in November 2024 that famine was imminent or already happening in the northern region of Gaza.
“The United Nations humanitarian office warned of a ‘stark increase’ in the number of households experiencing severe hunger in central and southern Gaza,” the AP reported that same month.
On top of the restrictions, the food that did enter Gaza was often at risk of theft or looting, as well as spoilage as Israeli forces restricted movements in the area.
Since the deal was announced, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 72 people and injured more than 230, according to Palestinian health officials in Gaza. The Israeli military said, without providing evidence, that it had targeted sites that were associated with Hamas, including weapons storage facilities, weapons manufacturing sites, and other military infrastructure, according to the AP.