Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage release agreement to end more than a year of conflict. fighting in the Gaza StripPresident Biden and the Prime Minister of Qatar announced Wednesday. The agreement comes after a week of intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt.
“Today, after several months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage-taking agreement,” Mr. Biden said in a written statement. “This agreement will end the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and reunite hostages with their families after more than 15 months of captivity. »
Speaking from the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Biden said: “There was no other way for this war to end than with a hostage agreement, and I am deeply satisfied that this day has finally arrived, for the good of the people of Israel. , and for the families who wait in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people of Gaza who have suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war.
He said Americans would be among the hostages released in the first phase of the deal, “and the vice president and I look forward to welcoming them home.”
The agreement is expected to take effect on Sunday, the White House said.
When news of the deal broke, crowds gathered in Deir al Bala, Gaza, and celebratory gunfire was heard.
“I am extremely happy,” a young Palestinian woman from the Gaza town of Khan Younis told CBS News. “In the last 15 months I have experienced tears, laughter, martyrs lost and people gone to prison, but ultimately I feel joy.”
“I am very happy and today is the day I have wanted to hear about since the war started,” said an old man. “God sends us hope,” he added.
Hatem Khaled / REUTERS
The ceasefire is not yet in effect and Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza City and Khan Younis on Wednesday after the news broke.
The families of American hostages still held in Gaza expressed relief at the announcement of an agreement.
“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 waited 467 days for our family members to suffer 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 agreement had been accepted in principle Earlier in the week, Arab, U.S. and Israeli officials told CBS News. It sets out a progressive framework for a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages still held by Hamas for a larger number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. This also includes access for humanitarian aid to Gaza and the possible possibility for Palestinians in Gaza to return to the areas they fled.
Intense negotiations were underway in Doha in recent weeks, with President Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, remaining in the region for nearly a month. McGurk worked in close coordination with President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Mr. Biden spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday about the negotiations and again on Wednesday. A senior U.S. official described their latest conversation as “a very warm call, marking this moment.”
In Israel, the families of the hundred hostages still held after the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which saw the group and its allied militants kill around 1,200 people, regularly hold rallies to demand a negotiated deal to Hamas. release of their loved ones. The Israeli military estimates that around a third of the hostages are already dead.
Amir Lévy / Getty Images
More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of the war, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, and most of Gaza’s population is displaced and living in camps. Humanitarian groups have been struggling to provide helpand experts warned of starvation.
What does the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas contain?
Details of the deal are similar to a plan outlined by Mr. Biden last year. The agreement is expected to come into force on Sunday.
According to a draft from mediating sources, seen by CBS News earlier this week, and Mr. Biden’s description, this would include three phases, each lasting about 42 days.
In the first phase, Hamas would release 33 female and child hostages, as well as hostages over the age of 50, according to the draft seen by CBS News. The first phase will also include the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza, Biden said.
For every woman or child hostage returned to Israel, Israel should release 30 Palestinian women and children from its prisons. Hamas would release all hostages over the age of 50 and Israel would release 30 Palestinian prisoners aged 50 or over.
A senior Israeli official told CBS News that the release of Israel’s hostages would begin on the first day of a 42-day ceasefire period. Mr Biden said the Americans would be among the first wave of hostages released.
On the first day, Hamas would release three hostages, according to the plan seen by CBS News. On the seventh day, Hamas would release four hostages. Thereafter, Hamas would release three hostages taken in Israel every seven days, starting with the living, then returning the bodies of those who died.
During the exchange of hostages and prisoners, there would be a complete ceasefire in Gaza to allow the entry of aid, says the draft seen by CBS News. International humanitarian groups and the United Nations would resume operations in Gaza and begin rebuilding the enclave’s infrastructure, such as water, electricity and sewage systems.
The second phase of the deal would involve the release of all remaining Israeli hostages and the withdrawal of all IDF forces from Gaza, the president announced Wednesday.
The third phase would include exchanging the bodies of deceased hostages and prisoners and beginning the reconstruction of Gaza, Mr. Biden said.
Trump responds to ceasefire agreement and hostage release
In his remarks, Mr. Biden noted that the agreement will largely be implemented after his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, takes office.
“This agreement was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented, substantially, by the next administration,” the president said. “For the past few days, we have been speaking as one team.
Trump posted the news of the ceasefire agreement and hostage taking on social media.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could only have happened following our historic victory in November, as it signaled to the world that my administration would seek peace and negotiate agreements to ensure the security of all Americans and our Allies. » Trump wrote. “I am delighted that the American and Israeli hostages are returning home to their families and loved ones. »
Trump said his special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, would continue to work closely with Israel “to ensure that Gaza NEVER becomes a haven for terrorists again.”
“We have accomplished so much without even being in the White House,” Trump wrote. “Just imagine all the wonderful things that will happen when I return to the White House and my administration is fully confirmed, so that it can secure more victories for America!”
Trump is at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Wednesday, five days removed from becoming president.
Asked how much credit Trump should get for the deal, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told CBS News’ Caitlin Huey-Burns: “I hope we all go to- beyond the question of who gets the credit. I mean, I don’t think the hostages care, and I don’t think their families care. I don’t think the Palestinians in Gaza care who gets the credit for this. The truth is that there is plenty of credit to spare, including in the (Middle East) region.”
Kirby said the Biden administration has worked closely with its counterparts on Trump’s team.
“It is important to remember that this agreement is the one that President Biden negotiated and put on the table last May and which gained international support. That’s the deal we’re talking about here,” Kirby said. “And that was due to intense diplomacy on the part of American diplomats.”
Margaret Brennan, Marwan Al-Ghoul, Mais Al-Bayaa and Michal Ben-Gal contributed to this report.