Following A Bloody 15 Months, Israel And Hamas Agree To Gaza Ceasefire And Hostage Deal
Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire deal — pausing a brutal 15-month war in the hard-hit Gaza Strip with an eye towards ending one of the deadliest conflicts between Jews and Muslims in modern Middle Eastern history.
The provisional deal came weeks after negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha involving mediators from Qatar and Egypt, working with Israeli and U.S. officials.
The war in Gaza began when a Hamas unleashed a terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 Israelis and taking another 250 hostage. In response, Israel responded with a military air and ground offensive, killing 46,000, according to Palestinian officials.
Over the next six weeks, officials said, 33 of the nearly 100 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas are expected to return home, although it’s unclear if all are still alive.
“These days are horrible for us,” Yafit Zailer said, breaking down into tears over the thought of her relatives — Shiri and Yarden Bibas and their two small children, Ariel and Kfir — being released after 15 months of captivity.
“I want to know already if they’re coming back,” she added. “I want to know already if they’re OK or not. I want to hold my cousin in my arms and celebrate the biggest celebration.”
The three-phased agreement would begin with the release of 33 women, children, older adults and wounded civilians in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children currently imprisoned by Israel. Soldiers and other male captives would be released in the second phase.
The deal to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners comes just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, a scenario reminiscent of when American hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for more than a year were freed by Iran in 1981 just as Ronald Reagan was sworn in as commander in chief.
President-elect Trump got ahead of President Joe Biden and the White House on the announcement that an agreement had been reached.
“WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!” he wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump’s election last November and his second return to Washington, as well as his team’s work over the past few weeks was, according to The New York Times, a “factor in the deal getting done.”
Biden also praised the six-week pause, which was the result of a rare bipartisan effort.
“The vice president and I cannot wait to welcome [the hostages] home,” he said in remarks at the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken by his side.
At the same time, it remained unclear when displaced Palestinians who fled the war would be able to return and whether the deal would lead to the full withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Gaza.
Israel officials said details needed to be ironed out. Any deal still needs to be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet.
However, many longer-term questions remain, including when will the war end and who will rule Gaza or oversee its reconstruction.
There was much jubilation in Gaza, across the Middle East and much of the Muslim world over the deal.
The Council of American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group, said they “welcome this long overdue ceasefire deal, which President Biden should have forced Netanyahu to accept over a year ago instead of needlessly funding so much death and destruction.”
In a statement, CAIR also praised “all Americans who have marched, protested, lobbied, organized or prayed for this moment, especially brave college students” and President-elect Donald Trump for “pushing for a ceasefire deal and reportedly warning Netanyahu that Israel, too, would face consequences for continuing to refuse to make a deal.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat who is also Jewish, also welcomed the deal.
“A cease-fire is very good news for Israel, for America, for the Palestinian people and particularly for the hostage families who have waited so long in agony,” he said. “We will not rest until every hostage comes home.”
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.