(NewsNation) — Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal in the war in Gaza, which has now gone on for more than a year according to multiple mediators and U.S. officials, aimed at clearing the way for dozens of hostages to be released.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his cabinet won’t meet to greenlight a deal until Hamas backs down, claiming the group is creating a “last-minute crisis.”
“Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions. The Israeli Cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement,” Netanyahu’s office wrote in a statement.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden envoy Brett McGurk and President-elect Donald Trump envoy Steve Witkoff are in Doha working with Qatari and Egyptian mediators to secure the ceasefire and hostage agreement, a U.S. official told NewsNation on Thursday.
The ceasefire is set to begin Sunday and last for six weeks.
“Due to the strong insistence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas folded on its last-minute demand to change the deployment of IDF forces in the Philadelphi Corridor. However, several items in the framework have yet to be finalized; we hope that the details will be finalized tonight,” his office said in a statement.
Ceasefire negotiations have dragged on, with Qatar acting as an intermediary and President Joe Biden heavily pushing the two sides to reach an agreement and secure the release of hostages still being held by Hamas.
A special focus was put on hostages considered “humanitarian cases,” including women, children, people over the age of 50, and the sick or injured.
Even after a deal is signed, it must be approved by Israel’s Cabinet and will likely be challenged before the country’s Supreme Court. A vote is expected on Thursday.
Addressing the deal, Biden noted the agreement reached was the same one he proposed months ago. Biden also touted the weakening of Iran-backed Hezbollah and other enemies of Israel in the region.
“With this deal, the people of Gaza can finally recover and rebuild,” Biden said. “They can finally look to a future where Hamas is no longer in power.”
Biden took credit for negotiating the deal while noting it would be implemented by the incoming administration and said both teams had been working to negotiate a ceasefire.
The president noted that the deal sets the stage for a more peaceful future in the Middle East and hopes the incoming White House will continue on that path.
Three-phase deal
The deal includes multiple phases. Phase one will include the release of 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children and men over 50 years old.
Not all American hostages are expected to be released during this phase, a U.S. official source tells NewsNation. Two American citizens — Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen — are on the list of hostages to be released in the first six-week phase.
The process for releasing the remaining American hostages, including those who have died, is ongoing.
Palestinians are expected to be able to return to their homes during phase one.
Talks on the second phase will begin by Day 16 of the first phase. This phase is expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent truce and a complete Israeli exit from Gaza. This phase is where conflicts could emerge when it comes to security concerns and the question of who will govern Gaza.
Should negotiations last longer than six weeks, the ceasefire will continue as long as negotiations are ongoing. The temporary ceasefire is set to become permanent during phase two.
The third phase is expected to involve the return of bodies of dead hostages and the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction.
Egyptian, Qatar and U.S. negotiators will head to Cairo on Thursday for further talks on implementing all aspects of the ceasefire deal, according to a senior U.S. official.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani thanked all international partners for helping reach a deal and noted that Qatar would be watching to ensure the agreement was met by all parties.
He emphasized the need for both sides to commit to all three phases of the deal.
Reactions to the deal
President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Qatar for the discussions. Trump celebrated the deal on Truth Social, taking credit for the success and saying it would not have happened if he had not won in November.
When a reporter asked Biden if he or Trump deserved credit for the deal, Biden responded by asking if the question was a joke.
The House Foreign Relations Committee released a statement crediting Trump for the successful negotiations.
Wednesday evening, Netanyahu spoke with Trump and Biden separately, thanking them for their “assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families.”
The conflict in Gaza
In 2023, around 100 hostages were released during a negotiated pause in fighting while 240 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails.
Human rights organizations have warned of a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, which has long been blockaded, leaving civilians unable to flee the area. Instead, they are displaced to different parts of the Gaza Strip as Israel has announced evacuation orders in cities and towns prior to military strikes.
Israel says 405 soldiers have been killed in the conflict, while Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed. It is not clear how many of those are combatants and how many are civilians.
NewsNation’s Robert Sherman and Kevin Bohn and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
