After more than a year of fighting in Gaza, Israel and Hamas may finally be close to signing a ceasefire agreement. Hamas allegedly accepted a draft ceasefire agreement from Qatari mediators on the night of Tuesday, Jan. 14.
The agreement called for a three-stage ceasefire, the first of which would include the release of 33 hostages, mostly women and children, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The terms of the second phase would be negotiated while the first phase was still being carried out. The same goes for the third phase — its terms would be negotiated during the second phase.
It’s a complicated framework that could very easily fall apart.
Israeli media initially reported government officials would vote on the agreement Thursday, Jan. 16, but on Wednesday, Jan. 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied Hamas agreed to any kind of ceasefire. He threw into doubt whether any hostages would be released anytime soon, which incited more calls for Netanyahu to step down.
The Israeli leader is accused of continuing the war for political motivations.
Several reports claimed a deal was struck, and that the Israeli government would vote on it. But until a ceasefire goes into effect, the conflict continues.
Around 100 hostages are believed to still be held by Hamas in Gaza. Not all of them are believed to be alive, and every day a deal isn’t made, the likelihood of bringing any of them home alive drops.
President Biden made remarks on Wednesday as well, saying, “At long last, I can announce a ceasefire, and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas.”
The president said that the deal is structured in three phases, with the first phase lasting six weeks, including a full ceasefire, withdrawal of the IDF from the populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women, the elderly and the wounded. Americans are part of that hostage release as well, according to Biden.
Biden said that in exchange, Israel will release Palestinian prisoners, with a surge in humanitarian assistance then set to begin. After that, phase two of the negotiations will begin, which the president says will be a “permanent end of the war.” If negotiations take longer than the six week period, he said, “the ceasefire will continue as long as the negotiations continue.”
When phase two begins, there will be an exchange of the remaining living hostages as well. At that point, the temporary ceasefire will become permanent. Finally, in phase three, Biden said the remains of deceased hostages will be returned to their families, and a, “major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin.”
Biden said the details of the deal will need to be implemented by the incoming Trump administration, and that there are “genuine opportunities for a new future,” in the Middle East.
This story has been updated with statements from President Joe Biden during a meeting with the press on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
