Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal, with the agreement set to commence on Sunday(Jan. 19), as announced by Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The deal, which was brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, includes the release of hostages and the withdrawal of some Israeli forces to allow more aid to enter Gaza.
The agreement is set to last 42 days, with the first phase seeing the release of 33 hostages, starting with women, children, and the elderly, and the withdrawal of some Israeli forces to allow more aid to enter Gaza. The deal includes the release of hostages detained by Hamas and Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, with Americans being part of the first phase of the hostage release.
A recent meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was in Jerusalem and Doha, reportedly played a significant role in securing the deal. He apparently pressured Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire agreement.
The meeting between Netanyahu and Witkoff was reportedly a tense one, with Witkoff leaning on the premier to make the compromises necessary for an agreement, according to senior Arab diplomats and sources familiar with the negotiations.
“[It was] the first time there has been real pressure on the Israeli side to accept a deal,” one diplomat briefed about the negotiations reportedly said of Witkoff’s involvement. The Trump's Middle East envoy met with Netanyahu on Jan. 11 to push for the ceasefire deal following a meeting with the head of the Qatari mediators, Prime Minister Al Thani.
Witkoff did more to persuade Netanyahu in a single meeting than what US President Joe Biden could do in the past year, Arab officials are quoted as saying. The three-phase hostage and ceasefire agreement is almost the same as the proposal put forth in May which the Israeli PM reportedly scuttled.
The families of the seven Americans held hostage in Gaza, only three of whom are believed to still be alive, said they were thankful for the new deal after 15 months of uncertainty.
“We are deeply grateful that there is finally an agreement between Israel and Hamas to bring our loved ones,” said the families of Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Keith Siegel, Itay Chen, and Gadi and Judi Haggai.
“We have been waiting for 467 days while our family members suffer from life-threatening injuries, abuse, torture, and sexual violence. We thank President Biden, President-elect Trump, and their teams for their constructive efforts to make this possible,” the group added.
Videos circulating on social media show Palestinians celebrating in Gaza and West Bank, and Israelis in Tel Aviv, all hopeful that Trump's election will bring peace to the region.
During the presidential campaign last year, Trump promised to end the war in Gaza which has killed tens of thousands of people including thousands of children and women.
Trump had warned that there would be “hell to pay” if an agreement was not reached before his inauguration next week. He'll be sworn as the 47th US president on Jan. 20.
Thje President-elect celebrated the cease-fire agreement on Wednesday, with the incoming president taking credit for the breakthrough in negotiations. “This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
On his part, "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families," the Jewish Premier's office wrote on X. "The Prime Minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism. The two decided to meet in Washington soon in order to discuss this and other important issues. Prime Minister Netanyahu then spoke with US President Joe Biden and thanked him as well for his assistance in advancing the hostages deal."
The ceasefire deal has been welcomed by world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, who stressed that it will bring a “permanent end of the war,” and French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that a political solution must follow the ceasefire deal to end the conflict in Gaza. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also welcomed the deal in a statement posted on X.
