On Jan. 15, multiple sources reported the Israeli government and Hamas have agreed to a temporary ceasefire deal that will pause fighting in Gaza. According to CNN, the deal will begin Sunday, Jan. 19, with the release of 33 hostages from the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
This ceasefire deal comes after 15 months of terror that has ravaged the Middle East, and has resulted in the death of over 47,000 people, according to Reuters. Negotiations for a deal, organized by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, have been ongoing for months. The United States has also been involved in these negotiations, and President Joe Biden confirmed the news of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal from White House on Jan. 15.
“It’s a very good afternoon, because at long last I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said. “More than 15 months of terror for the hostages, their families, the Israeli people. More than 15 months of suffering by the innocent people of Gaza. Fighting in Gaza will stop. And soon the hostages will return home to their families.”
According to the Associated Press, the deal is intended to be done in phases, with the first phase (starting Jan. 19) set to last 42 days. It will begin with Hamas releasing 33 hostages: all of the women, children, and those older than 50. Israel will then release 30 Palestinian prisoners for every civilian hostage released, and 50 for every female soldier released. Additionally, Israel will move out of populated edges to the borders of the Gaza strip, and displaced Palestinians can begin returning home.
There will also be a large influx of humanitarian aid into the strip, which will make it much easier to deliver the food, clean water, and medical care that the people of Palestine desperately need. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) released a statement from its president, Mirjana Spoljaric, to share that the organization is prepared to help. “We are ready to facilitate any release operation as agreed by the parties so that hostages and detainees can return home,” Spoljaric said. “We are also prepared to massively scale up our humanitarian response in Gaza, where the situation demands it. This will require continuous effort from the parties to ensure that our teams can carry out their work safely and effectively.”
The next phase of the deal is also intended to last 42 days, during which Hamas will release the remaining male prisoners (both civilians and soldiers) for a to-be-determined number of Palestinian prisoners as an exchange. It also comes with talks about continuing “sustainable peace” in the region, and will involve more negotiations between the Israeli government and Hamas. These negotiations will begin on Day 16 of the ceasefire, while the deal is still in the first phase.
Finally, the third and final phase of the deal involves a return of the deceased hostages and prisoners to their respective homes, as well as plans for reconstructing and reopening borders for movement in and out of Gaza.
Although this ceasefire deal has been outlined, there are many complications that the deal will face in order to be implemented fully, especially due to all of the negotiations that must take place for the implementation of the second phase, which remains the most contentious, according to the Associated Press. The Israeli government has said it will not fully withdraw from Gaza until it is guaranteed that Hamas has no more military and political power and could not rearm. Alternatively, Hamas has said that it will not return hostages until Israel has fully withdrawn all of its troops from Gaza. The draft of the deal reportedly states that the second phase needs to be worked out before the end of the first phase, so there is less than two months’ time to reach an agreement.
If the second phase is able to be reached, the third phase will likely not be as contentious, since it primarily entails returning the deceased to their homelands and implementing plans to help rebuild Gaza after the immense destruction of the past 15 months. Around the world, global citizens are holding their breaths in hope the phase will be reached, and that people everywhere can begin to heal.