Israel and Hamas have reportedly reached a ceasefire agreement to end their 15-month conflict in Gaza. The deal, mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, includes a 42-day truce and the exchange of prisoners.
The official announcement is expected on Wednesday evening in Cairo, but US President-elect Donald Trump has already made several statements confirming that the agreement has been reached, crediting his envoy Steve Witkoff for the breakthrough.
Hamas launched a series of raids out of Gaza on October 7, 2023, which were blamed for the deaths of over 1,100 Israelis, while 250 Israelis were said to have been taken captive. West Jerusalem responded by declaring war on the Palestinian militant group. More than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, while much of the enclave has been turned to rubble.
15 January 2025
20:20 GMT
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has called a preparatory ceasefire a necessary and important move, offering support to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government.
“This deal–when signed, approved, and implemented–will bring with it deeply painful, challenging, and harrowing moments. It will also present significant challenges,” the president said in an address to the nation.
Herzog added that the deal will return those who were captured, which “will make a vital contribution to our national and social resilience.” According to Israeli officials, around 100 hostages remain in captivity.
Herzog thanked the parties participating in the negotiations, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, “and all other parties that pushed for the release of the hostages.” He also offered special thanks to the outgoing US President Joe Biden and to President-elect Donald Trump.
19:54 GMT
RT reports celebrations from Khan Yunis in Gaza, where chants and gunfire can be heard following news of the ceasefire agreement.
19:08 GMT
“This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ceasefire is the result “not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran” but also “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy,” said the statement, posted on the White House website.
19:07 GMT
Hamas confirmed that a ceasefire agreement on Gaza has been reached. “The agreement to stop the aggression on Gaza is an achievement for our people, our resistance, our nation, and the free people of the world. It is a turning point in the conflict with the enemy, on the path to achieving our people’s goals of liberation and return,” the group said, in a statement posted on Telegram.
19:03 GMT
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will begin on January 19, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, said during a press conference in Doha on Wednesday.
18:55 GMT
Palestinians in Gaza have begun celebrating the ceasefire, which has still not been officially announced.
18:53 GMT
Netanyahu’s office has stated that a ceasefire deal in Gaza has not been finalized, but has suggested that the final details could be resolved in the coming hours. “Several clauses in the framework are still unresolved, and we hope to finalize the details tonight,” Associated Press wrote, quoting the Israeli prime minister’s office.
18:29 GMT
Back in November, Israel reached a ceasefire with Hezbollah, following 14 months of hostilities in Lebanon that left more than 3,500 people dead and numerous communities across the country damaged or destroyed.
Hezbollah joined Hamas’ war against Israel in October 2023, and for much of the following year fought a low-intensity campaign against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) along the ‘blue line’ separating Lebanon from Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
READ MORE: Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire: Path to peace or festering wound?
The conflict escalated dramatically in September when Israel began bombarding Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and by November, dozens of the paramilitary group’s top commanders had been killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Under the deal, the militant organization agreed to withdraw from the area of southern Lebanon between the blue line and the Litani River, with only Aoun’s forces and UN peacekeepers permitted to deploy in the area. The ceasefire is set to expire on January 27.
18:13 GMT
The ceasefire is expected to take effect on Sunday, a senior Arab official has told the Times of Israel. One of the “minor” issues still being worked out is the vetting of around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who are supposed to be released, mainly Gazans detained since the conflict began, he added. Israel wants most of them to be sent to a third country.
18:07 GMT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied rumors about an IDF withdrawal from the ‘Philadelphi Corridor’ being part of the deal. West Jerusalem has insisted on keeping troops in the strip of territory along the border between Egypt and Gaza during the implementation of the ceasefire.
An anonymous Israeli official told the Times of Israel that Hamas has “folded” on its demands regarding the corridor due to Netanyahu’s insistence, but “there are still a number of details that have not been finalized.”
The cabinet in West Jerusalem is reportedly meeting on Thursday morning to officially approve the agreement.