Share and Follow
Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal after 15 months of bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and escalated tensions across the Middle East.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani announced on Thursday that the ceasefire deal would come into effect on 19 January but said discussions with Israel and Hamas are still ongoing.
The , with Israel and Hamas agreeing to release hostages, halt fighting and allow for more aid to reach people in Gaza.
Some details of agreement remain unclear, and there are questions over Gaza’s future governance and the role of international aid agencies in the region.
Here’s what we know about the deal so far.
The first phase
The initial phase will last six weeks and will involve a limited hostage-prisoner exchange, the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops in Gaza and a surge of aid into the enclave.
Thirty-three Israeli hostages will be released in this phase of the agreement, with those first released to be “civilian women and female recruits, as well as children, elderly people … civilian ill people and wounded”, Al Thani said.
, which led to an escalation of the ongoing conflict.
Israeli officials believe the 33 hostages are alive, though confirmation from Hamas is pending, according to the Times of Israel.
In terms of the Palestinian prisoners that would be exchanged for the 33 hostages, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said on Tuesday that Israel was “prepared to pay a heavy price — in the hundreds”.
Israel will release all Palestinian women and children under 19 detained since the October 7 attacks by the end of the first phase. The total number of Palestinians released will depend on the hostages released and could be between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian detainees, including men, women and children.
Under the terms of the deal, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will move out of populated areas to the edges of the Gaza Strip, and critical civilian aid will enter the war-ravaged enclave.
This withdrawal will “allow for the swap of prisoners, as well as the swap of remains and the return of the displaced people”, Al Thani said.
An Israeli buffer zone
Negotiations over a second phase of the agreement will begin by the 16th day of phase one and are expected to include the release of the remaining captives, including Israeli male soldiers, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers.
Israeli forces would not fully withdraw from Gaza until “all hostages are returned”, the Israeli official said.
It’s unclear how many civilians remain in northern Gaza, but in the cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun.
A source close to Hamas said Israeli forces would withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor westward toward Salaheddin Road to the east, enabling displaced people to return through an electronic checkpoint equipped with cameras.
“No Israeli forces will be present, and Palestinian militants will be barred from passing through the checkpoint during the return of displaced persons,” he said.
Critical aid
The first phase will also see international aid agencies gain increased access and protections in Gaza.
The deal requires 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the ceasefire, 50 of them carrying fuel, with 300 of the trucks allocated to the enclave’s north.
“We’re looking at a massive infusion of trucks … It won’t happen overnight, but we want to get up to over 500 trucks a day,” Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US State Department told a news briefing after the deal was announced.
The United Nations said on Tuesday it was busy preparing to expand humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip under a potential ceasefire but uncertainty around border access and security in the enclave remain obstacles.
Israel — which the UN says is the backbone of aid operations in Gaza — from operating in the region.
The laws, which prohibit UNRWA from operating on Israeli land and having contact with Israeli authorities, is due to take effect later this month.
What happens next?
Details on the potential second and third phases of the ceasefire deal remain unclear.
Under the arrangements outlined by Qatar, the details of phases two and three will be “finalised” during the implementation of phase one, with Al Thani saying that the first could transition into a “permanent ceasefire”.
US President Joe Biden said the as-yet finalised second phase would bring a “permanent end to the war”.
Biden said phase two would comprise an exchange for the release of remaining hostages who are still alive, including the male soldiers. Then all remaining Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza, he said.
Israel has said it will not agree to a complete withdrawal until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated.
The third stage is expected to address the return of all remaining bodies. It would also witness the start of Gaza’s reconstruction which will be supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
As of now, there is no agreement over who will administer Gaza beyond the ceasefire.
Hamas has said it is willing to hand over power to a new leadership body, but it may seek to keep a hand in any future government, which Israel has previously opposed.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas’ October 7 attack in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
— With additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
