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Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages, raising hopes of ending the bloodiest round of fighting in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The multi-phase agreement comes days before Donald Trump takes office as US president. Trump’s warning that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released before his inauguration on Monday helped inject new momentum into long-stalled talks.
A person close to the negotiations said a deal had been struck.
Previous attempts to broker a deal to end the 15-month conflict and secure the release of the 98 Israeli hostages still in Gaza — not all of whom are alive — have repeatedly failed as Israel and Hamas have refused to make the concessions needed to reach a deal.
The war was triggered by Hamas’ shocking attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which the militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and took another 250 hostages.
Israel’s devastating revenge offensive has killed more than 46,000 people, according to Palestinian officials, as well as shrinking much of Gaza and fueling a humanitarian disaster in the besieged enclave.
This is a developing story
