A long-sought ceasefire deal for hostages in the Gaza Strip emerged after intense 96 hours of negotiations, according to US officials. The agreement was brokered by US, Egyptian and Qatari diplomats, who persuaded Israel and Hamas to conclude the deal.
Leading the US side was President Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk, who had been working closely with Israeli and Hamas representatives since January 5. The deal gained momentum after Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia agreed to a ceasefire in November.
The main obstacle was Hamas’ refusal to acknowledge how many hostages it was holding or who among the hostages would be released in the first phase of the deal. However, by late December, Hamas agreed to the list of hostages, which accelerated the final phase toward reaching a deal.
The agreement includes terms of the ceasefire, sequencing of hostage releases, number of Palestinian prisoners Israel will release, and future humanitarian aid to Gaza. The US official credited Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, as being critical to reaching the agreement.
Implementation of the deal is expected to begin as soon as Sunday, with a six-week initial ceasefire phase and gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The agreement also requires 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza every day during the ceasefire.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/gaza-deal-emerged-after-intense-96-hours-us-officials-say-2025-01-15