Jubilation as Israel, Hamas Reach Ceasefire Deal after 15 months of hell

After 15 months of a brutal war that has claimed 46,000 Palestinian lives, Israel and Hamas have finally reached a deal that should lead to a permanent ceasefire, although negotiators believe the strength and life span of the ceasefire would depend largely on the fidelity of the gladiators to terms of the deal.

President Biden and Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, announced the deal separately on Wednesday, CBS News reported. The deal comes after a week of intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, the U.S. and Egypt.

“Today, after many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage deal,” President Biden said in a written statement. “This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.”

Speaking from the White House Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Biden said, “There was no other way for this war to end than with a hostage deal, and I’m deeply satisfied this day has finally come, for the sake of the people of Israel, and for the families waiting in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people in Gaza who suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war.”

He said Americans will be among the hostages released in phase one of the deal, “and the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home.”

The Associated Press, AP, reported that the Qatari prime minister declared that the ceasefire would go into effect on Sunday, January 19, 2025, and that its success would depend on Israel and Hamas “acting in good faith in order to ensure that this agreement does not collapse.”

The Qatari PM spoke in the capital, Doha, the site of weeks of painstaking negotiations.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden also touted the deal, saying the ceasefire will stay in place as long as Israel and Hamas remain at the negotiating table over a long-term truce. Biden credited months of “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy” for landing the deal, noting that his administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team had been “speaking as one” in the latest negotiations.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, late Wednesday, that the ceasefire agreement with Hamas is still not complete and final details are being worked out.

An Israeli official familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said those details center on confirming the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed. Any agreement must be approved by Netanyahu’s Cabinet.

Netanyahu thanked Trump and Biden for “advancing” the ceasefire agreement, but did not explicitly say whether he has accepted it, saying he would issue a formal response only “after the final details of the agreement, which are currently being worked on, are completed.

His measured reaction may reflect domestic politics, the AP further reported. Netanyahu’s governing coalition depends on the support of two hardline factions whose leaders have threatened to leave the government over the planned release of Palestinian prisoners. Although opposition leaders have vowed to support the ceasefire deal, the loss of his hardline allies could lead to the collapse of the coalition and trigger early elections.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on Netanyahu’s government to approve the ceasefire in a nationally televised speech.

Hamas said in a statement that the ceasefire was “the result of the legendary resilience of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip.”

Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. will meet in Cairo on Thursday for talks on implementing the deal, according to a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Once the first phase of the deal takes effect, it is expected to deliver an initial six-week halt to fighting along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether.

Over those six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, though it’s unclear if all are alive.

It remained unclear exactly when and how many displaced Palestinians would be able to return to their homes and whether the agreement would lead to a complete end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza — key Hamas demands for releasing the remaining captives.

Many longer-term questions about post-Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Hamas triggered the war with its October 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which killed some 1,200 in Israel and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a fierce offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

More than 100 hostages were freed from Gaza in a week-long truce in November 2023.

The U.S., along with Egypt and Qatar, have brokered months of indirect talks between the bitter enemies that finally culminated in this latest deal. It comes after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November, after more than a year of conflict linked to the war in the Gaza.

The United Nations and international relief organizations estimate that some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. They say tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and hospitals are barely functioning. Experts have warned that famine may be underway in northern Gaza.