Israel and Hamas Sign Agreement on Ceasefire and Release of Hostages

Israel and Hamas Sign Agreement on Ceasefire and Release of Hostages Foto: CBC
16 January 2025
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On January 15, Israel and Hamas declared a ceasefire and reached an agreement regarding the release of hostages. This information was reported by Reuters and CNN, citing sources familiar with the progress of the negotiations.

Qatar's Prime Minister, Mohammed Al-Thani, later confirmed that the parties had signed the agreement. According to him, the agreement will take effect on Sunday, January 19, and the first group of hostages could be released on the same day. In total, Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages.

According to Reuters, the agreement outlines an initial six-week ceasefire phase, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

"The ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza were reached following separate meetings between Qatar’s Prime Minister and representatives of Hamas and Israel," a source told the BBC.

“We have an agreement on hostages in the Middle East. They will be released soon,” wrote Donald Trump, the newly elected U.S. president, on the social media platform Truth Social.

Meanwhile, the current U.S. president, Joe Biden, stated that the agreement will halt military operations in Gaza, provide essential humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and reunite hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.

According to him, in the first phase of the ceasefire, Palestinians will be able to return to their homes, and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip will be increased. In the second phase, Israel and Hamas will discuss the necessary measures to completely end the war, while in the third phase, the reconstruction of Gaza is planned.

The recent war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, began on October 7, 2023.

Hamas militants launched widespread rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and armed groups infiltrated the country, taking hostages. According to Israeli reports, over 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians, were killed in the attacks, and approximately 250 individuals were taken as prisoners.

In response, Israel launched large-scale airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and, on October 27, entered the northern part of the region with significant military forces.

According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 46,600 people have been killed as a result of Israel's ground and air operations in Gaza. Over half of the casualties are women, children, and the elderly.

According to calculations by Reuters, this figure is ten times higher than the number of casualties in Gaza conflicts since 2008.

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