Video above: Hundreds of people in Jerusalem protest against the planned Israeli-Hamas ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, mediators announced Wednesday, pausing the devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip and ending the war between the rivals. The deadliest and most destructive battle is now likely to end.
The agreement, reached after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, gradually frees dozens of hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. It promises to liberate Gaza and enable the return of hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza. What’s left of their homes. It would also result in much-needed humanitarian aid flooding into the devastated territory.
Three U.S. officials and a Hamas official confirmed an agreement had been reached, but a senior Israeli official said details were still being worked out.
All three U.S. officials discussed the outline of the agreement on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal announcement by the Doha mediator.
President Joe Biden was preparing to address the landmark agreement later Thursday, officials said.
Both agreements must be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet and are expected to take effect within days.
The agreement is expected to result in an initial six-week cessation of fighting, which will begin negotiations towards a complete end to the war.
Thirty-three of the approximately 100 hostages are scheduled to be reunited with their loved ones after six weeks of captivity and months without contact with the outside world, but it is unclear whether all are alive.
It remains unclear when and how many displaced Palestinians will be able to return to their homes, and whether the deal will lead to a complete end to the war and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with Hamas’ This is the main demand for liberation. remaining prisoners.
Many long-term questions remain about post-war Gaza, including who will govern the area or oversee the difficult task of rebuilding it.
Still, the announcement may be bringing an end to the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, a conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked global protests. It was the first sign of hope in recent months.
Hamas sparked the war with a cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with heavy attacks, killing more than 46,000 Palestinians, local health officials say, displacing an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and creating a humanitarian crisis.
In November 2023, more than 100 hostages were released from Gaza during a week-long truce.
The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, mediated months of indirect negotiations between the two adversaries, culminating in this agreement. This follows Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreeing to a ceasefire in November after more than a year of conflict related to the Gaza war.
Israel responded with brutal air and ground attacks that killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, local health officials said. They do not distinguish between civilians and militants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
The United Nations and international relief agencies estimate that about 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been forced to flee multiple times. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and hospitals are said to be barely functioning. Experts have warned that famine may be brewing in northern Gaza, where Israel launched a major offensive in early October that displaced tens of thousands of residents.
Abed Radwan, a Palestinian father of three, said of the ceasefire agreement: “It was the best day of my life and the life of the people of Gaza.” “Oh, that saved me. Oh, that saved me.”
Radwan, who has been evacuated from the town of Beit Rahiya for more than a year and has taken refuge in Gaza City, said he plans to return to his hometown and “rebuild my home and rebuild Beit Rahiya.”
He spoke to The Associated Press by phone. His voice was overshadowed by the celebrations. “People are crying here. They don’t believe it’s true.”
Biden, who has provided critical military aid to Israel, expressed outrage over the civilian deaths and announced the outline of a three-phase ceasefire agreement on May 31. The agreement was ultimately agreed to abide by that framework.
He said the first phase would last six weeks and include a “complete and complete ceasefire,” the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas in the Gaza Strip, and the release of a large number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the injured. said. In exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners of war. Humanitarian aid will surge, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza every day.
The second and most difficult phase involves the release of all surviving hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which will take decades to rebuild from the devastation of war.
Hamas wanted a permanent end to the war and guarantees for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel has repeatedly said it will not stop the war until it destroys Hamas’ military and governance capabilities.
Various parties have been negotiating on and off for months. But with Biden’s term running out and President-elect Donald Trump set to take over, both sides were under intense pressure to agree to a deal.
President Trump praised the soon-to-be-announced agreement in a post on social media platform Truth Social. It will be released soon. thank you! “
Hezbollah’s acceptance of a ceasefire in hard-hit Lebanon and the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria are both major setbacks for Iran and its allies across the region, including the increasingly isolated Hamas. It became.
Israel has faced harsh international criticism over the civilian casualties, including from its closest ally the United States. Israel claims to have killed about 17,000 militants, but has provided no evidence to support that claim. It also accuses Hamas of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes, and blames Hamas for civilian casualties.
The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations from South Africa that Israel committed genocide. The International Criminal Court, a separate body also based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defense minister and Hamas commanders for war crimes and war-related crimes against humanity.
Israel and the United States condemned both courts’ actions.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is also under significant domestic pressure to return the hostages, as their plight has garnered national attention. Their families have become a powerful lobbying group with widespread public support following months of mass protests urging the government to reach a deal with Hamas.
Israeli authorities have already concluded that more than a third of the approximately 100 remaining captives are dead, and there are fears that others may no longer be alive. A series of videos released by Hamas showing the suffering of surviving hostages, combined with news of the rising death toll of abducted Israelis, further increased pressure on Israeli leaders.
The extremist group Hamas, which does not recognize the existence of Israel, is under overwhelming pressure from Israeli military operations, including invading Gaza’s largest cities and towns and occupying the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to be the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack, were killed.
But fighters have regrouped in some of the worst-hit areas after Israeli forces withdrew, raising the possibility of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas’ military and governance capabilities are destroyed. But what does that mean or even possible, given the group’s deep roots in Palestinian society, its presence in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, and its exiled leaders? Until now, it has not been clear at all.
If a ceasefire is reached, both sides will face many difficult and unanswered questions.
As the war winds down, calls for a post-war investigation into Netanyahu will likely hold him at least partly responsible for the worst security failure in Israel’s history on October 7. The far-right government’s partners, who opposed the ceasefire agreement, could also collapse the coalition and force the country into early elections.
There are still no plans for who will rule Gaza after the war. Israel said it would work with local Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. However, it is unclear whether such partners exist, and Hamas threatens those who cooperate with the Israeli military.
The United States has sought to push forward with a radical postwar plan for a reformed Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza with Arab states and international aid. As part of these plans, the United States expected Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for support for American security and the launch of a civilian nuclear program.
But these plans depend on credible progress toward establishing a Palestinian state, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and much of Israel’s political class oppose. Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel would offer unrestricted security to the Gaza Strip, which the Palestinians want for a future state, and the occupied West Bank, territory Israel captured in the 1967 war. He said he would maintain control.
In the absence of a Palestinian-backed post-war deal, Hamas is likely to remain a significant force in the Gaza Strip and could rebuild its military power once Israeli forces leave completely.
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