Israel and Hamas have reached a long-awaited ceasefire agreement. The Prime Minister of Qatar Mohammed Al Thani said. The country mediated the negotiations. Thousands of people have already came out onto the streets to express their joy or dissatisfaction with the terms of the peace deal.
A joint statement will be published soon, Al-Qahera al-Ekhbariya TV channel says.
The ceasefire agreement in Gaza will come into force on January 19. It will include three stages, the first of which will last 42 days. It provides for a ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the evacuation of wounded Palestinians.
Palestinian groups will release 33 Israeli hostages.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States guarantee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement at all three of its stages.
The President of Israel called the conclusion of the agreement the right and necessary step.
Hamas congratulated the residents of the enclave on reaching the agreement, but promised that the confrontation with Israel would continue.
The White House said that the deal between Israel and Hamas was reached, among other things, thanks to a constructive partnership with Donald Trump’s team.
The war began with an attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023. During the attack, about 1,200 Israelis were killed, and more than 250 were captured. In response, Israel launched operation «Iron Swords».
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, more than 46,000 residents of the region, both civilians and soldiers, were killed during the fighting. According to the Israel Defense Forces, about 17,000 Hamas soldiers were killed. Israel’s combat losses amounted to about 1,000 people.
Almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip (about 2 million people) was forced to leave their homes. Over 60 percent of the buildings there were completely destroyed or significantly damaged.
This military conflict has lasted 15 months and has already become the longest war in the history of Israel.