Israel and Hamas have reportedly reached a ceasefire agreement to conclude a 15-month-long conflict in Gaza. The accord, facilitated by mediation from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, entails a 42-day truce and a prisoner exchange arrangement.
The official declaration of the agreement is anticipated to take place in Cairo on Wednesday evening. However, US President-elect Donald Trump has already confirmed the agreement, commending his envoy, Steve Witkoff, for his instrumental role in the negotiations.
“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,”
stated Hamas in an official post on Telegram, confirming the truce.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇱 BREAKING: TRUMP FORCED NETANYAHU to accept Gaza Ceasefire deal he had repeatedly REJECTED – HAARETZ pic.twitter.com/0VOuByeMzR
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) January 15, 2025
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, also affirmed the deal during a press briefing in Doha. He announced that the ceasefire would commence on January 19.
The conflict’s roots trace back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas initiated a series of raids from Gaza. These attacks were attributed to the deaths of over 1,100 Israelis and the abduction of approximately 250 individuals. Israel’s response involved declaring war on Hamas, resulting in widespread destruction in Gaza. Reports estimate that over 46,000 lives have been lost, with much of the enclave reduced to rubble.
The prisoner exchange remains a complex issue within the agreement. A senior Arab official disclosed to the Times of Israel that the truce would likely take effect on Sunday. However, the process of vetting approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, mostly Gazans detained during the conflict, is still under discussion. Israel has expressed a preference for many of these individuals to be relocated to a third country.
This ceasefire follows a prior agreement reached in November between Israel and Hezbollah after a 14-month conflict in Lebanon. That conflict claimed over 3,500 lives and caused extensive damage to Lebanese communities.
Hezbollah, which joined Hamas in its hostilities against Israel in October 2023, had engaged in a protracted, low-intensity confrontation with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) along the ‘blue line’ separating Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights. The conflict escalated in September when Israel launched airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, resulting in significant casualties among the group’s leadership.
The November deal required Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon between the blue line and the Litani River, leaving the area under the control of Lebanese forces and UN peacekeepers. That ceasefire is scheduled to expire on January 27.
