Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a cease-fire in Gaza, what are the next steps? | News from Gaza

Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement after 15 months of devastating war that left Gaza – home to 2.3 million Palestinians – in ruins.

The deal, which is expected to be implemented in three phases starting Sunday, was approved by the Hamas group on Wednesday.

A meeting of the Israeli cabinet, which was expected to approve it on Thursday, was postponed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the “last-minute crisis.” Netanyahu’s far-right allies refused to support the deal.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, said the delay showed internal political strife within Netanyahu’s coalition government.

The three-month deal will see an increase in humanitarian aid, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of Israeli prisoners in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The deal, brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, also addresses post-war reconstruction efforts in the Palestinian enclave, where more than 60 percent of buildings have been destroyed and damaged by continuous Israeli bombardment since October 7, 2023.

January 19 (1st day)

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani announced on Wednesday that the deal would come into effect on Sunday, when the first Israeli prisoners are expected to be freed and the guns fall silent.

Al Jazeera journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, in the Gaza Strip, said the situation on the ground was a mix of cautious relief, hope and lingering sadness.

“Civilians are still in absolute fear of the escalation of attacks in Gaza over the next 72 hours,” he said, adding that more than 30 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli airstrikes in the past day.

Abu Azzoum said the agreement calls for about 600 aid trucks to be allowed into the Strip on a daily basis. “But Israel has a very long history of breaking its obligations under ceasefire agreements,” he said.

Humanitarian agencies have called for unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, where hunger may have taken over.

Relatives and supporters of Israeli prisoners in Gaza reacted to news of the deal.

Ifat Calderon, a relative of Israeli prisoner Ofer Calderon, said in Tel Aviv that she felt joy, but also “terrible anxiety that this will actually happen.”

“It will be a great relief, first of all, whenever I see Ofer,” she said. “Secondly, whenever I see the last hostages crossing the border. And we’re going to be here protesting every day until that happens, because I don’t know if it’s going to happen.”

January 25 (7th day)

On the seventh day, internally displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to the northern Gaza Strip, which has been under a deadly military siege since October, unarmed and unscreened across al-Rashid Street.

Cars and any non-pedestrian traffic will be allowed back north of the Netzarim corridor, which divides Gaza between north and south, after a vehicle inspection by a private company to be decided by mediators in coordination with the Israeli side.

Several Palestinians told Al Jazeera that they plan to return to their towns and villages as soon as they get the chance. More than 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced by the war.

“As soon as there is a ceasefire, I will go back and kiss my country in Beit Hanoon in northern Gaza,” Umm Mohamed, a 66-year-old woman who lost two of her 10 children in Israeli bombing, told Al Jazeera.

February 3 (16th day)

No later than the 16th day after the start of the ceasefire, the parties agreed to start negotiations on the second phase.

February 9 (22nd day)

On the 22nd, civilians will be allowed to return north from al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets without inspection.

March 1 (42nd day)

This marks the end of the first phase. By this date, 33 Israeli prisoners should be released in exchange for 100 Palestinian prisoners.

It is also the start of the second phase if things go according to plan. This includes the release of the remaining prisoners, believed to number 65. In exchange, Israel commits to withdraw from Gaza and respect a permanent ceasefire. Up to 94 Israeli prisoners, dead or alive, will be freed in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians. Almost 30 of the 94 prisoners are believed to be dead.

Israeli forces are also scheduled to begin withdrawing from the Philadelphia Corridor that separates Gaza from Egypt.

Israel, however, insisted that no written guarantees be given that would rule out the continuation of hostilities. Hamas has reportedly been given verbal assurances by Egypt, Qatar and the US that negotiations will continue.

March 9 (50th day)

By that date, Israel was to complete the complete withdrawal of its forces from the Philadelphia Corridor.

April 12 (84th day)

Then the third phase should start. The details are still unclear. If the conditions of the second stage are met, then the bodies of the remaining prisoners should be handed over in exchange for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan that should be carried out under international supervision.

There is currently no agreement on who will govern Gaza after the ceasefire. The US pressured a reformed version of the Palestinian Authority to do so.