After months of negotiations between Hamas and Israel — the US, Egypt and Qatar as mediators –. A ceasefire has been negotiated in the war in Gaza The agreement will take effect on Sunday, according to Qatari officials.
The agreement will be developed in three different phases, each lasting six weeks, according to US and Qatari officials.
Phase 1 of the ceasefire has been completed, according to the Qatari prime minister, phases 2 and 3 are still in the draft stage and will be completed after the first six weeks.
Here are the full details of Phase 1 of the historic ceasefire agreement:
Phase 1 — 42 days
Qatari authorities have announced that Israeli forces will withdraw eastward, away from densely populated areas, and that more aid will flow into Gaza. Coordination is currently underway to open the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing to allow international aid to enter Gaza, according to an Egyptian security source.
Qatar has said that Israeli forces will remain on the border.
The 33 hostages in Gaza will be released, including women, children and the elderly, according to the authorities.
President Joe Biden said Americans would be part of the initial hostage release. Three Americans are believed to be alive and four others are believed to be dead in Hamas custody.
People celebrate watching a television along a street in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, January 15, 2025, amid the war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territory.
Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will also be released in exchange for hostages, Biden said.
“In the first phase, Palestinians can also return to their neighborhoods, in all areas of Gaza and humanitarian aid will begin to surge into Gaza, and innocent people can have greater access to these vital supplies,” Biden said.
Israel’s cabinet will meet on Thursday to approve the deal.
A view of destroyed buildings in northern Gaza seen from southern Israel near Sderot on January 15, 2025.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Here’s what’s in the draft of phases 2 and 3 of the hostage agreement:
Supporters of Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped in a deadly attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, take part in a demonstration demanding an agreement to bring home all the hostages at once, amid Gaza ceasefire negotiations, in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 15. 2025
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Phase 2: 42 days
A permanent cessation of military operations and all hostilities to be established before the exchange of remaining hostages, civilians and soldiers for Israeli males, civilians and soldiers, an announcement of permanent calm, an agreed upon number of prisoners in Israeli prisons and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. Gaza List
Phase 3: 42 days
The Israeli Army attacks the Al-Amari Refugee Camp near Ramallah in the West Bank on December 25, 2024.
Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images, FILE
The remains and bodies in the possession of both sides will be exchanged after they have been identified.
The reconstruction of Gaza will take three to five years, including housing, civilian buildings and infrastructure, with compensation for all affected people under the supervision of various countries and organizations, including Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
Opening crossings and allowing the movement of people and goods.
