Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement to halt more than a year of fighting in the Gaza Strip, President Biden and Qatar’s prime minister announced separately on Wednesday. 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,” Mr. 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 deal is expected to take effect Sunday, the White House said.
As news of the agreement broke, crowds gathered in Deir al Bala in Gaza, and celebratory gunfire was heard.
“I’m extremely happy,” one young Palestinian woman in the Gaza city of Khan Younis CBS News. “The past 15 months I experienced tears, laughters, lost martyrs and people went into prison, but finally I feel the joy.”
“I am very happy, and today is the day I wished to hear about since the beginning of the war,” an elderly man said. “God is sending us hope,” he added.
The ceasefire is not yet in effect, and Israeli airstrikes continued Wednesday in Gaza City and Khan Younis after the news broke.
The families of the American hostages still being held in Gaza expressed their relief at the news of a deal.
“We are deeply grateful that there is finally an agreement between Israel and Hamas to bring our loved ones — Omer, Edan, Sagui, Itay, Keith, Gad, and Judi — home,” the families said in a statement. “We have been waiting for 467 days while our family members suffer from life-threatening injuries, abuse, torture, and sexual violence. We thank President Biden, President-elect Trump, and their teams for their constructive efforts to make this possible.”
A draft of the deal had been agreed to in principle earlier in the week, Arab, U.S. and Israeli officials told CBS News. It sets out a phased framework for a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages still held by Hamas for a larger number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It also includes access for humanitarian aid to Gaza and the eventual ability of Palestinians in Gaza to return to areas they fled.
Intense negotiations had been underway in Doha for the past few weeks, with President Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, staying in the region for the better part of a month. McGurk has been closely coordinating with President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. Mr. Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone on Sunday about the negotiations.
In Israel, families of the approximately 100 hostages still being held after Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 2023 attack, which saw the group and allied militants kill about 1,200 people, have been holding regular rallies demanding a negotiated deal for the release of their loved ones. The Israel Defense Forces has said it believes around a third of the hostages have already died.
More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli strikes since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, and most of Gaza’s population is displaced and living in camps. Humanitarian groups have been struggling to deliver aid, and experts have warned of famine.
Culled from CBS News