Israel and Hamas have agreed on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following meetings with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. The deal is set to begin on Sunday and will last 42 days. Announcing the deal in Doha yesterday, Prime Minister al-Thani said, it will lead to the release of Israeli captives and surging humanitarian aid to Gaza. According to Israeli media reports, the country’s security cabinet will meet today to approve the deal. A Hamas official said that it has approved the draft from mediators in Doha. Confirming the deal, US President Joe Biden said, American hostages would be freed in the first phase. In a social media post, US President-elect Donald Trump described the deal as ‘Epic’ and said, the agreement happened as a result of his historic election victory.
The three-phase plan has not been published, but sources say, 33 of the hostages held by Hamas will reportedly be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails over the first six weeks of the ceasefire. Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and a sustainable calm – will start after two weeks. The third and final stage will involve the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.