Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement and Hostage Release Deal: Key Details

Israel and Hamas have reportedly agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to announcements from the United States and mediators in Qatar. However, the agreement is still pending approval from the Israeli cabinet and government, which is yet to formally endorse the deal. If approved, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement will take effect on 19 January and is expected to last six weeks.

This ceasefire comes after 15 months of intense fighting between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian armed group and political movement. The current conflict began on 7 October 2023 when hundreds of Hamas fighters crossed Israel’s southern border, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign, starting with immediate air bombardments followed by a full-scale ground invasion, which began on 27 October. Since then, Israel has carried out extensive attacks across Gaza, using land, sea, and air forces. Hamas has retaliated by firing rockets into Israel, further escalating the violence.

The ceasefire agreement aims to bring an end to the ongoing hostilities and secure the release of hostages, but its success depends on the formal approval of the Israeli government.

Key Events in Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Negotiations

1. 7 October 2023 – Hamas Attack on Israel
   Hundreds of Hamas fighters stormed Israel’s southern border, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza. This marked the beginning of the escalation in the conflict.
2. Israel’s Military Response
   Israel launched an air bombardment and followed it with a full-scale ground invasion starting on 27 October 2023, targeting Hamas in Gaza. This led to significant casualties on both sides.
3. Rising Death Toll
   As of the latest reports, more than 46,700 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza due to Israeli airstrikes and military actions. The toll has drawn international concern and calls for ceasefire discussions.
4. Mediators Step In – Qatar and the US
   Efforts to mediate a ceasefire began, with Qatar and the United States playing significant roles in pushing both sides towards negotiations.
5. Ceasefire Agreement Reached
   After 15 months of conflict, Israel and Hamas reportedly agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, announced by the US and Qatar. The first six-week phase of the agreement is expected to take effect on 19 January 2025, pending approval by Israel’s cabinet and government.
6. Pending Israeli Cabinet Approval
   The Israeli government is expected to formally approve the deal. If passed, this ceasefire agreement will mark a crucial step toward de-escalating the conflict and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

These events outline the major developments leading to the current ceasefire talks, with hopes of alleviating the humanitarian disaster and securing a pathway for long-term peace.

What led to the ceasefire deal

2023

7 October: Hundreds of Hamas-led gunmen launch an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, bursting through the border fence and targeting nearby communities, police stations and army bases. About 1,200 people are killed and 251 hostages taken back to Gaza. Hamas also fires thousands of rockets into Israel. The Israeli military immediately responds with air and artillery strikes on Gaza.

27 October: Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza. Israel’s massive military campaign will go on to devastate Gaza, displace most of the 2.3 million population, and kill more than 46,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

21 November: A deal brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt sees Hamas release 105 of the hostages in return for some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during a week-long ceasefire. Israel and Hamas blame each other for causing the collapse of the truce.

28 December: Shuttle diplomacy on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal starts.

2024

31 May: US President Joe Biden outlines an Israeli proposal for a three-phase ceasefire in return for the release of Israeli hostages. It forms the basis of the deal that is agreed upon eight months later.

10 June: The United Nations Security Council passes a resolution supporting the ceasefire plan.

31 July: The talks are suspended following Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader and chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Discussions resume two weeks later, initially in the absence of Hamas.

17 October: Israeli forces kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in southern Gaza. Netanyahu calls it the “beginning of the end” of the war.

9 November: After months without a breakthrough, Qatar suspends its efforts as mediator in the negotiations. It says Israel and Hamas need to shift their positions. Both sides blame each other for the impasse.

20 November: The US vetoes a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying it “abandoned” the necessity for there to be “a linkage between a ceasefire and the release of hostages”.

27 November: Israel agrees a ceasefire with Lebanon to end a 13-month conflict with the armed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, which was triggered by the Gaza war. It reignites hope for a deal in Gaza, with Biden saying he will make another push with regional powers.

2 December: US President-elect Donald Trump says there will be “all hell to pay” if the hostages still held in Gaza are not released by the time he returns to the White House on 20 January 2025.

17 December: A senior Palestinian official says the indirect talks are in a “decisive and final phase”, while Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says an agreement is closer than ever.

2025

13 January: Biden and Netanyahu speak by phone about negotiations during Biden’s final week in office, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said an agreement was “very close” and that he hoped to “get it over the line” before Trump takes office.

15 January: Qatar’s prime minister says Israel and Hamas agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, and that it will take effect on 19 January. Biden says it will “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families”.

Courtesy: Channel 4 News

References

• ^ “UNRWA Situation Report #1 on the Situation in the Gaza Strip”. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. United Nations. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023. At 06:30 on the morning of 7 October 2023, Hamas launched ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ with more than 5,000 rockets reportedly fired towards Israel from multiple locations in Gaza, as well as ground operation into Israel.
• ^ Fabian, Emanuel (9 October 2023). “Officer, 2 soldiers killed in clash with terrorists on Lebanon border; mortars fired”. The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b “Who are Hamas’s allies in Gaza? From Islamic Jihad to Marxist militants”. The National. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b Ragad, Abdelali; Irvine-Brown, Richard; Garman, Benedict; Seddon, Sean (24 November 2023). “How Hamas built a force to attack Israel on 7 October”. BBC News. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
• ^ Guy Van Vlierden (14 October 2023). “HLN Onderzoek. Van jihadisten tot communisten: zeker 10 groeperingen deden mee met actie Palestijnse terroristen” [HLN Research. From jihadists to communists: at least 10 groups participated in Palestinian terrorist action]. Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 October 2023.
• ^ Smyth, Phillip (December 2023). “The Path to October 7: How Iran Built Up and Managed a Palestinian ‘Axis of Resistance'”. CTC Sentinel. 16 (11). Combating Terrorism Center.
• ^ Fabian, Emanuel (19 October 2023). “IDF says it killed head of military wing of Gaza’s Popular Resistance Committees”. The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
• ^ “Israel Army Fires Artillery at Lebanon as Hezbollah Claims Attack”. Asharq Al-Awsat. 8 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
• ^ Nada Homsi (31 October 2023). “‘We’re with the resistance’: Hezbollah allies the Fajr Forces join Lebanon–Israel front”. The National. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
• ^ “الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام – القومي أعلن استشهاد أحد مقاتليه وسام محمد سليم” [The National News Agency announced the martyrdom of one of its fighters, Wissam Muhammad Salim.]. nna-leb.gov.lb (in Arabic). 15 December 2023.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b “Iran Update, January 14, 2024”. Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
• ^ Dahan, Maha El (31 October 2023). “Yemen’s Houthis enter Mideast fray, hardening spillover fears”. Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
• ^ Ben-Ari, Lior; Zitun, Yoav (22 December 2023). “Iran-backed militias in Iraq claim struck Israel’s Karish natural gas rig in Mediterranean”. Ynetnews. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
• ^ “Iran launches barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel”. BBC News. 1 October 2024.
• ^ “Israel army kills two attackers who crossed from Jordan”. France 24. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
• ^ Abraham, Yuval (3 April 2024). “‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza”. +972 Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2024. as many as 37,000 Palestinians as suspected militants
• ^ “How Israel is using ‘Lavender’ and ‘Daddy’ to identify 37,000 Hamas operatives”. The Economic Times. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024. The “Lavender” system is designed to identify individuals suspected of being part of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), even targeting those with lower ranks for potential aerial bombardments. In the initial stages of the conflict, the military heavily relied on Lavender, leading to the system labeling up to 37,000 Palestinians as militants, along with their residences, for potential airstrikes.
• ^ “Gaza Strip”. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
• ^ “How Hamas secretly built a ‘mini-army’ to fight Israel”. Reuters. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
• ^ International Institute for Strategic Studies (25 February 2021). The Military Balance 2021. London: Routledge. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-03-201227-8. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
• ^ “Israel’s massive mobilization of 360,000 reservists upends lives”. The Washington Post. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
• ^ “US troops arrive in Israel”. Telegraph. 15 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024. Around 100 American military personnel in total will be sent to operate the system – the first time US troops have been deployed in combat in Israel during the current crisis.
• ^ Cooper, Helene (13 October 2024). “U.S. to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel”. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
• ^ van der Merwe, Ben (4 April 2024). “Israel–Hamas war: Gaza’s morgue network has effectively collapsed – how are they recording their dead?”. Sky News. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b c d “Israel–Gaza war in maps and charts: Live tracker”. Al Jazeera. 9 October 2023.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b “Health Ministry In Hamas-run Gaza Says 81 Killed In 24 Hours”. Barron’s. Agence France-Presse. 16 January 2025.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact”. UN OCHA. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b c d Graham-Harrison, Emma (17 September 2024). “Gaza publishes identities of 34,344 Palestinians killed in war with Israel”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
• ^ Fayyad, Huthifa (17 September 2024). “Nearly 1,000 Palestinian health workers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza named”. Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024. Israeli forces have killed 1,151 Palestinians working in Gaza’s health sector […] At least 165 of those killed were doctors, 260 nurses, 300 management and support personnel, 184 health associate professionals, 76 pharmacists and 12 other health workers.
• ^ “Israel kills top northern Gaza doctor”. Al Jazeera. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024. The Gaza Health Ministry says an Israeli quadcopter drone has killed Saeed Jouda, a top physician in the north of the territory. The ministry said the drone “shot directly” at Jouda while he was heading from Kamal Adwan Hospital to al-Awda Hospital, bringing the number of medics killed in the war to 1,057.
• ^ “Gaza has highest rate of child amputees anywhere in world: UN”. Al Jazeera. 6 December 2024. UNRWA – the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees – has released its latest assessment of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank: 251 UNRWA staff have been killed since Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory was launched in October 2023.
• ^ “133 UN agency staffers killed due to Israeli airstrikes on Gaza Strip”. Anadolu Agency. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
• ^ Jump up to:^a b “Six Unrwa workers among estimated 18 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school sheltering displaced”. The Guardian. 12 September 2024. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
• ^ “Two Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli air attacks on Gaza”. Al Jazeera. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025. Two more journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, bringing the total number of Palestinian media workers killed in the 15-month war to at least 206. Aqel Saleh was killed in an Israeli air attack that targeted a group of people in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, local sources told Al Jazeera. Journalist Ahmed Abu Alrous and three other people were killed in Nuseirat in central Gaza when an Israeli air attack hit his vehicle.
• ^ “Journalist Mohammed Al-Talmas dies of injuries after Israeli strike on Gaza City”. Al Jazeera. 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025. Al-Talmas succumbed to his injuries following Israeli bombardment of Gaza City yesterday, Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent is reporting. Since Israel’s war on Gaza began, more than 170 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the enclave, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, and more than 200, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
• ^ “Number of journalists killed in Gaza now stands at 203”. Al Jazeera. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025. Gaza’s Government Media Office says the killing of Saed Nabhan, who was shot by an Israeli sniper in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp earlier today, brings the total number of journalists and media workers killed in the enclave since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza to 203.
• ^ “Women and children of Gaza are killed less frequently as war’s toll rises, AP data analysis finds”. AP News. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
• ^ “Israel publishes new civilian death toll in Gaza”. Voice of America. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
• ^ Kingsley, Patrick; Odenheimer, Natan; Boxerman, Aaron; Sella, Adam; Abuheweila, Iyad (13 July 2024). “How Hamas Is Fighting in Gaza: Tunnels, Traps and Ambushes”. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
• ^ Berman, Lazar (26 November 2024). “PM says Hezbollah ‘not the same’ fighting force as before: ‘We’ve sent it back decades'”. Times of Israel.
• ^ Fabian, Emanuel (3 November 2024). “Three soldiers killed in north Gaza; IDF says 900 terror operatives dead in Jabalia op”. Times of Israel.
• ^ “Swords of Iron: Real Time Tracker”. Institute for National Security Studies. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
• ^ “Israel’s Netanyahu says militants make up about half of Gaza deaths”. CBS News. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
• ^ Al Taher, Nada (26 March 2024). “Israeli campaign in Gaza meets genocide definition, says UN official”. The National. “Israel failed to prove that the remaining 30 percent, ie adult males, were active Hamas combatants – a necessary condition for them to be lawfully targeted,” the report read. Israel assigned all adult men “active fighter status by default” in December last year when it said it had killed more than 7,000 “terrorists”, although men comprised less than 5,000 of the casualties at the time.
• ^ Thomas, Merlyn (29 February 2024). “Israel Gaza: Checking Israel’s claim to have killed 10,000 Hamas fighters”. BBC News. The Israeli embassy in the UK told us they think the total number of Hamas fighters killed is “between 10,000 and 12,000”. But they said it was hard to distinguish between civilians and combatants.
• ^ “Israel makes military claims in Gaza war without providing proof: Correspondent”. Al Jazeera. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
• ^ “Report casts doubt on Israeli army claims of Hamas fighters killed in Gaza”. L’Orient Today. 6 March 2024. The Israeli military claims that its forces have killed more than 10,000 Palestinian fighters in Gaza, but its ability to distinguish between civilians and fighters has long been brought into question.
• ^ Filiu, Jean-Pierre (18 December 2023). “Destroying Hamas, or destroying Gaza?”. Le Monde.fr. As for the figure of 7,000 Hamas fighters that Israel claims to have killed, this seems highly overstated. This number reflects the scale of all adult males killed since the start of an offensive in which 70% of victims have been women and children.
• ^ Kusovac, Zoran (9 December 2023). “Analysis: As Israel escalates Gaza war, its ‘kill-rate’ claims don’t add up”. Al Jazeera.
• ^ Nakhoul, Samia; Pamuk, Humeyra; Landa