The United States and Qatari mediators said that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release agreement.
If the Israeli Cabinet and government formally approve the agreement, which has not yet happened, the first six-week phase will enter into force on January 19.
The agreement comes after 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian armed and political movement.
The current conflict began when hundreds of Hamas fighters stormed Israel's southern border on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages to Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign, beginning with an immediate aerial bombardment and then with a large-scale ground invasion on October 27. Since then, Israel has attacked targets across Gaza by land, sea and air, while Hamas has attacked Israel with rockets.
More than 46,700 people, most of them civilians, have been killed by Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Below is a reminder of the main events in the negotiations.
2023
October 7: Hundreds of Hamas-led militants launch an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, storming the border fence and targeting nearby communities, police stations and army bases. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were returned to Gaza. Hamas also fires thousands of rockets at Israel. The Israeli army immediately responds with air and artillery strikes on Gaza.
October 27: Israel launches a ground attack on the Gaza Strip. The massive Israeli military campaign to destroy Gaza will continue, displacing most of the 2.3 million population and killing more than 46,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
November 21: The agreement brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt stipulates that Hamas will release 105 hostages in exchange for the release of about 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons during a week-long ceasefire. Israel and Hamas Blame each other For causing the collapse of the truce.
December 28: Start of shuttle diplomacy regarding a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
2024
May 31: US President Joe Biden Outline for The Israeli proposal A three-stage ceasefire in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages. It forms the basis of the deal that is agreed upon eight months later.
June 10: United Nations Security Council The resolution passes Support the ceasefire plan.
July 31: Talks are on hold After the assassination of Israel He received the political leader of Hamas and its chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital, Tehran. The talks will resume after two weeks, initially in the absence of Hamas.
October 17: Israeli forces Assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar In southern Gaza. Netanyahu describes it as “the beginning of the end” of the war.
November 9: After months without achieving a breakthrough in Qatar He pins his efforts As a mediator in negotiations. She says that Israel and Hamas need to change their positions. Both sides blame each other for this impasse.
November 20: US He vetoes the draft The UN Security Council resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying it “abandoned” the need for a “linkage between the ceasefire and the release of hostages.”
November 27: Israel He agrees to a ceasefire The United States had agreed with Lebanon to end the 13-month-long conflict with the armed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, which was sparked by the war in Gaza. It revives hope for an agreement in Gaza, where Biden has said he will make another effort with regional powers.
December 2: US President-elect Donald Trump He says there will be “paying all hell.” If the hostages still being held in Gaza are not released by the time he returns to the White House on January 20, 2025.
December 17: A senior Palestinian official He says indirect conversations We are in a “decisive and final stage,” while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says that the agreement is closer than ever before.
2025
January 13: Biden and Netanyahu spoke on the phone about negotiations during Biden's final week in office, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said… It was the deal “Very close” He hopes to “get over it” before Trump takes office.
January 15: The Qatari Prime Minister said that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages, and that it will enter into force on January 19. Biden says the agreement “will stop the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and reunite hostages with their families.”
