Timeline: The Road to a Ceasefire Agreement Between Israel and Hamas in Gaza | News from Gaza
A ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has come into force in Gaza, allowing more than 2 million Palestinians in the enclave some respite after 15 months of devastating war.
In the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement, some of the Israeli prisoners held in Gaza will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a gradual Israeli withdrawal towards Gaza’s borders with Israel and a huge increase in access to humanitarian aid.
We hope that the first phase will pave the way for the second and third phases, which will lead to the release of all prisoners and a permanent ceasefire.
The road to this latest agreement has been long and full of false starts. Here’s a look at the path to this deal since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.
The first truce
After more than six weeks of fighting that destroyed large areas of Gaza and killed thousands, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce on November 21, 2023.
In the weeks since Hamas fighters invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, the Israeli military has relentlessly bombarded Gaza with air and ground attacks, killing more than 14,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
In addition, an estimated 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced and forced by the Israeli military to flee to the southern areas of the Strip.
After weeks of hectic talks led by Qatar and multiple instances where a deal appeared on the horizon before falling apart, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a meeting of his cabinet, which then voted to approve the truce deal.
About 250 prisoners were taken by Hamas and other Palestinian groups after the October 7 attack. As part of the November agreement, 110 were released.
Israel released more than 240 Palestinian prisoners, all of whom were women and children.
The the truce was extended for seven daysbut Netanyahu made it clear that Israel is not ending its war on Gaza and that the cessation of fighting is only temporary. Israel resumed the war against Gaza on December 1, 2023.
International pressure
As Israel’s war on Gaza intensified, protests broke out around the world.
In fact, university students in the United States held campus protests and sit-ins which attracted global attention.
As the war continued, several European nations officially admit the State of Palestine, including Ireland, Spain and Norway.
South Africa has also applied to apply a case of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which was later supported by at least 14 countries, including Belgium, Colombia, Turkey, Egypt, Chile and Spain.
Negotiations continue
In May 2024, as the war in Gaza entered its eighth month, hopes that a truce could be reached increased as negotiations progressed.
In Cairo, Egyptian and Qatari officials were working with the Americans to find an agreement – then Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on May 6 that his group had accepted the proposal. Palestinians started celebrating in the streets of Gaza.
The deal, which would take place in three phases, said Hamas would release 33 Israeli prisoners in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails for 42 days. In the second phase, the Israeli army would completely withdraw from Gaza.
Israel, however, said it did not agree to the terms of the ceasefire. Shortly thereafter, Israel launched an invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Then, at the end of May, US President Joe Biden said that Israel had agreed to a ‘permanent cease-fire proposal’. But Netanyahu later rejected the plan and continued the war.
The Lebanon War
Israel and Hezbollah began attacking each other on October 8, 2023, while the Lebanese group said it was firing at Israel in solidarity with Gaza. On September 23, 2024, Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon, killing more than 550 people in one day. The attack came just days after the infamous pager and walkie-talkie attacksand a few days before the assassination of the long-time leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
A few days later, on October 1, 2024, Israel invaded southern Lebanon.
Analyst Hamzé Attar told Al Jazeera that he believed Israel’s goals in Gaza had been achieved in early 2024, but the war had been extended to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A cease-fire was announced on November 27, under which Hezbollah would withdraw its military infrastructure north of the Litani River and the Lebanese Armed Forces would deploy in southern Lebanon. The ceasefire agreement also states that Israeli troops should withdraw from southern Lebanon before the end of the 60-day ceasefire period.
Israeli troops are still present in border towns and are destroying homes and villages before withdrawing.
ICJ orders
In November 2024, the ICJ issued warrants for Netanyahu’s arrest and former Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, for committing alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Many countries said they would respect the court’s decision, although the US rejected the ruling and some officials threatened the court.
Trump enters the fray
On December 2, US President-elect Donald Trump announced on social media that there would be “hell to pay” if the prisoners in Gaza were not freed before he took office. He repeated the requests later in December and again in early January.
Regional talks, including cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon, are reportedly being coordinated between the Biden administration and some of the incoming officers from Trump’s new administration.
The agreement was reached
On January 15, the negotiators allegedly reached an agreement after 15 months of war in which at least tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed. According to some estimates, the number of dead exceeds 100,000.
An Israeli cabinet meeting approved the deal on Saturday, despite opposition from far-right ministers.
The ceasefire was due to begin at 8:30 am local time (06:30 GMT) on Sunday, January 19. Shortly before that time, Netanyahu issued a statement saying he would not begin until Hamas provided the names of the first three Israeli prisoners released. Hamas attributed the delay in handing over the names to “technical field reasons.”
After Hamas announced the names, the truce came into effect at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT).
Similar to the agreement proposed in May, this ceasefire should take place in three phases. The first phase will last 42 days as Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.
The Israeli military should also withdraw from populated areas of Gaza, allowing Palestinians to return to neighborhoods throughout the enclave as humanitarian aid is allowed to increase. The United Nations and other bodies and organizations have accused the Israelis of blocking aid to Gaza for much of the past year.
During the various negotiations, US officials often blamed Hamas for not agreeing to the terms of the cease-fire agreement. However, ahead of the deal, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed he had repeatedly blocked ceasefire agreements over the past 15 months.
