Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages that will end more than a year fighting in the Gaza StripPresident Biden and the Qatari Prime Minister announced separately on Wednesday. The deal comes after a week of intensive negotiations mediated by Qatar, the US and Egypt.
“Today, after many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage agreement,” Mr. Biden said in a written statement. “This deal 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 in captivity.”
Speaking from the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Biden said: “There was no other way for this war to end except with a hostage deal, and I am deeply pleased that this day has finally come, for the sake of the people of Israel, and for the families who are waiting in agony, and for the sake of the innocent people of Gaza who have suffered unimaginable destruction due to the war.”
He said the Americans would be among the hostages to be freed in the first phase of the deal, “and the vice president and I can’t wait to welcome them home.”
The agreement is expected to take effect on Sunday, the White House announced.
As news of the deal broke, crowds gathered in Deir al Bala, Gaza, and celebratory gunfire was heard.
“I am extremely happy,” one young Palestinian woman in the Gaza city of Khan Younis told CBS News. “In the past 15 months, I have experienced tears, laughter, lost martyrs and people who went to prison, but finally I feel joy.”
“I am very happy, and today is the day I wanted to hear about since the beginning of the war,” said an elderly man. “God is sending us hope,” he added.
Hatem Khaled / REUTERS
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 relief at news of the deal.
“We are deeply grateful that an agreement has finally been reached 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 while our family members 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.”
It was a draft agreement agreed in principle earlier this week, Arab, American and Israeli officials told CBS News. It establishes 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 humanitarian aid access to Gaza and the eventual ability of Palestinians in Gaza to return to the areas they fled.
Intense negotiations have been underway in Doha for the past few weeks, and President Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, has been in the region for most of the month. McGurk worked closely with President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
Mr. Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday about the talks and again on Wednesday. A senior US official described their last conversation as “a very warm conversation that marked this moment”.
In Israel, the families of approximately 100 hostages still being held after Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7, 2023, in which the group and allied militants killed around 1,200 people, have been holding regular rallies to demand a negotiated settlement for the release of their loved ones. The Israel Defense Forces said they believed about a third of the hostages had already died.
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More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, and most of Gaza’s population has been displaced and lives in camps. There were humanitarian groups struggling to deliver aidand experts warned of hunger.
What is in the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas?
The details of the agreement are similar to the plan that Mr. Biden presented last year. The agreement is expected to take effect on Sunday.
According to a draft by media sources reviewed by CBS News earlier this week, and Mr. Biden’s description, it will consist of three phases, each lasting about 42 days.
During the first phase, Hamas would release 33 women and children held hostage, as well as hostages over the age of 50, according to a draft seen by CBS News. The first phase will also involve the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the populated areas of Gaza, Mr. Biden said.
For every woman or child hostage returned to Israel, Israel is expected to 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 over the age of 50.
A senior Israeli official told CBS News that the release of hostages from Israel would begin on the first day of the 42-day ceasefire period. Mr. Biden said Americans would be among the first wave of freed hostages.
On that first day, Hamas would release three hostages, according to a draft seen by CBS News. On the seventh day, Hamas will release the four hostages. Thereafter, Hamas would release three hostages taken from Israel every seven days, starting with the living and then returning the bodies of those who died.
During the hostage and prisoner exchange, there would be a complete ceasefire in Gaza to allow aid to enter, according to the draft seen by CBS News. International aid 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 include the release of all remaining male Israeli hostages and the withdrawal of all IDF forces from Gaza, the president announced on Wednesday.
The third phase would involve exchanging the bodies of deceased hostages and prisoners and beginning the reconstruction of Gaza, Biden said.
Trump responds to ceasefire agreement and release of hostages
In his remarks, Mr. Biden noted that the deal would 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, for the most part, by the next administration,” the president said. “We’ve been talking as a team for the past few days.”
Trump made the announcement on social media after news of the hostage and cease-fire deal broke.
“This EPIC cease-fire agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November, because it signaled to the world that my administration will seek peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies,” Trump wrote. “I am delighted that the American and Israeli hostages will return home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
Trump said his special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, would continue to work closely with Israel “to ensure that Gaza NEVER again becomes a safe haven for terrorists.”
“We’ve 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 I can secure more victories for the United States!”
Trump is at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Wednesday, with five days left until he becomes president.
Asked how much credit Trump should get for the deal, White House national security adviser John Kirby told CBS News’ Caitlin Huey-Burns: “I hope we all move beyond the question of who gets the credit. I mean, I don’t. I don’t think so.” did 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 going around, including in the [Mideast] region.”
Kirby said the Biden administration worked closely with his colleagues on Trump’s team.
“It’s important to remember that this deal was a deal that President Biden negotiated and put on the table back in May, got international support for it. That’s the deal we’re talking about being implemented here,” Kirby said. “And that was due to the intensive diplomacy of American diplomats.”
Margaret Brennan, Marwan Al-Ghoul, Mais Al-Bayaa and Michal Ben-Gal contributed to this report.
