Israel-Hamas Crisis : Six Weeks Cease-Fire Agreed

Qatar, Egypt and the United States mediators say Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on January 19, 2025 so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet. US President Joe Biden said it would « halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families ». Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal’s final details were still being worked on, but he thanked Biden for "promoting" it. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said it was the result of Palestinian « resilience ».
The agreement calls for a six-week ceasefire, in which both parties will stop fighting. The Israeli military will start to redeploy eastward out of urban centres across Gaza, in what Israel has described as “buffer zones”. By the end of the first phase, the agreement also calls for Israeli troops to leave the key route known as the Netzarim corridor that separates the north of the strip from the south, and to leave Gaza’s border with Egypt within 50 days.
The deal is expected to allow Palestinian civilians to return to their homes across Gaza, including in the devastated north. There would be a massive influx of humanitarian aid into the strip, where residents have long faced dire humanitarian conditions. As part of that first phase, Hamas will release 33 hostages in the first phase, including female soldiers, children, the elderly and the sick, Aljazeera reported.
"Three female Israeli civilian hostages are expected to be rele...