Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and a deal to release hostages, the US and mediator Qatar said.
If the Israeli cabinet and government formally approve the deal, which has yet to happen, the first six-week phase will come into effect on January 19.
The agreement followed 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian armed group and political movement.
The current conflict began when hundreds of Hamas fighters stormed across Israel’s southern border on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back into Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign, beginning with an immediate aerial bombardment, followed by a full-scale ground invasion launched on 27 October. Since then, Israel has attacked targets across Gaza by land, sea and air, while Hamas has attacked Israel with rockets.
More than 46,700 people – most civilians – have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.
Here is a reminder of key developments in the negotiations.
in 2023
October 7: Hundreds of Hamas-led gunmen are launching an unprecedented assault on southern Israel, breaching the border fence and targeting nearby communities, police stations and military bases. About 1,200 people were killed, and 251 hostages were returned to Gaza. Hamas also fires thousands of rockets at Israel. The Israeli army immediately responds with air and artillery attacks on Gaza.
October 27: Israel launches ground invasion of Gaza. Israel’s massive military campaign will continue to devastate Gaza, displacing most of its 2.3 million population and killing more than 46,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
November 21: The deal brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt calls for Hamas to release 105 hostages in exchange for about 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during a week-long ceasefire. Israel and Hamas blame each other for causing the collapse of the truce.
December 28: Shuttle diplomacy begins on a new ceasefire and the release of hostages.
in 2024
May 31: US President Joe Biden outlines an Israel’s proposal for a three-phase ceasefire in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages. This forms the basis of the agreement that was agreed eight months later.
June 10: United Nations Security Council brings a solution supporting the ceasefire plan.
July 31: The talks were cut off after the assassination of Israel political leader and chief negotiator of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh in the capital of Iran, Tehran. Discussions resume two weeks later, initially in the absence of Hamas.
October 17: Israeli forces kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in southern Gaza. Netanyahu calls it the “beginning of the end” of the war.
November 9: After months without progress, Qatar ceases its efforts as a mediator in negotiations. He says that Israel and Hamas must change their positions. Both sides blame each other for the standoff.
November 20: USA vetoes the draft A UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying it “rejects” the need for a “link between the ceasefire and the release of the hostages”.
November 27: Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Lebanon to end the 13-month conflict with the armed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, which fueled the Gaza war. It is rekindling hopes for a deal in Gaza, and Biden has said he will make another push with regional powers.
December 2: The newly elected US President Donald Trump says there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages still held in Gaza are not released by his return to the White House on January 20, 2025.
December 17: A senior Palestinian official says indirect conversations are in the “decisive and final phase”, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says the agreement is closer than ever.
in 2025
January 13: Biden and Netanyahu are discussing the talks by phone during Biden’s final week in office, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the agreement was “very close” and that he hoped to “get over the border” before Trump took office.
January 15: Qatar’s prime minister says Israel and Hamas have agreed on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, which will come into effect on January 19. Biden says it will “stop the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and reunite hostages with their families.”
