Gaza ceasefire deal agreed by Israel and Hamas, source tells BBC happymamay

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release agreement following meetings with the Qatari prime minister, a source familiar with the talks told the BBC.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said there were “several unresolved items” but that it hoped to reach a final agreement on Wednesday evening. A Hamas official said earlier that it had agreed to the draft resolution from mediators in Doha.

US President-elect Donald Trump also wrote on social media: “We have a hostage deal in the Middle East.”

The three-stage plan has not been made public, but it is said that 33 of the hostages held by Hamas will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons during the first six weeks of the ceasefire.

Negotiations on the second phase – which is supposed to see the release of the remaining hostages, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the achievement of “sustainable calm” – are scheduled to begin in two weeks.

The third and final phase will include the reconstruction of Gaza – which could take years – and the return of the bodies of any remaining hostages.

Once the deal is announced by Qatar or the United States, it will still have some hurdles to overcome before the fighting stops and the first hostages are released.

It must first be put to a vote in the Israeli Cabinet, possibly on Thursday. It is expected to pass, but the far-right national security minister said he would vote against it.

The Israeli government will then announce the names of all Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release, and will give the families of any victims 48 hours to appeal.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Strip. Most of the population of 2.3 million people have been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter due to the struggle to get aid to those in need.

Israel says 94 hostages are still being held by Hamas, and 34 of them are presumed dead. In addition, there were four Israelis who were kidnapped before the war, two of whom died.