Israel, Hamas Agree Ceasefire Deal, Release Of Hostages

Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held in Gaza following separate meetings with Qatarâs prime minister, a source briefed on the talks told AFP.
A US official confirmed the deal.
Pressure to put an end to the fighting had ratcheted up in recent days, as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States intensified efforts to cement an agreement.
On Wednesday, a source close to the talks said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani was âmeeting Hamas negotiators in his office for (a) final pushâ to seal the deal.
A source briefed on the talks later told AFP a âGaza ceasefire and hostage release deal (was) reached following (the) Qatari PMâs meeting with Hamas negotiators and separately Israeli negotiators in his officeâ.
The announcement comes after months of failed bids to end the deadliest war in Gazaâs history, and days ahead of the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, who immediately hailed the deal before it was officially announced by the White House.
âWe have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!â Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Trump had warned Hamas of âhell to payâ if it did not free the remaining captives before he took office, and envoys from both his incoming administration and President Joe Bidenâs outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations.
Hamas sparked the war in Gaza by staging the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage during the attack, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israelâs retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territoryâs health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
Among the sticking points in successive rounds of talks had been disagreements over the permanence of any ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory.
The UNâs Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, said it will continue providing much-needed aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, has opposed any post-war role for the militant group in the territory.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday Israel would ultimately âhave to accept reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under the leadership of a reformedâ Palestinian Authority, and embrace a âpath toward forming an independent Palestinian stateâ.
He added that the âbest incentiveâ to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace remained the prospect of normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, speaking in Oslo, said the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire showed international pressure on Israel âdoes pay offâ.
The October 7 attack on communities in southern Israel sparked uproar around the world, as did the scale of the suffering in Gaza from the retaliatory war.
World powers and international organisations have for months pushed for a ceasefire, which up until Wednesday had remained elusive.
Source:- Punchng
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