After many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, the ongoing 15 months of Israeli and Hamas War have come to an end. The negotiating teams form Israel and Hamas have signed a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Doha on Thursday which was agreed by both sides a day earlier.
The three-phase ceasefire deal promises the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and it will allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It would also flood desperately needed humanitarian aid into the territory ravaged by 15 months of war, mediators say.
As Israel’s negotiating team has not yet returned from Doha the Israel government won’t meet to approve it until Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirms.
This will delay the return of the first hostages from Sunday to Monday. Holding the full cabinet meeting on Saturday means the 24-hour grace period for petition filing won’t conclude until late Sunday, meaning the deal won’t come into place until Monday — a day after originally slated.
The families of the remaining 98 hostages have also been updated, according to the statement, which says the premier instructed authorities to work together on preparations for receiving the captives who will be freed as part of the deal.
“The State of Israel is committed to achieving all the goals of the war, including the return of all our hostages — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu’s office adds.
Trump and Biden both claim credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal. Netanyahu thanked Trump and Biden for “advancing” the ceasefire agreement.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said at a press conference Wednesday night that the cease-fire will take effect on Sunday, the day before Biden leaves office and Trump takes power for a second time and that Qatar will continue to work with Egypt and the U.S. to ensure the implementation of the deal between Israel and Hamas. The Qatari Foreign Ministry added that the cease-fire will commence at 12:15 P.M. Sunday.
Peace is and will always be the best for the well-being of all people, everywhere. No more war whether it is from Gaza to Sudan, Yemen to Ukraine and Haiti to Myanmar and beyond.
Meanwhile, World leaders and communities welcomed the hostage-ceasefire deal.
The Phases of the Cease-Fire Agreement
33 hostages including women, children, the sick and men over the age of 55 will be gradually released over the course of a 42-day period
The IDF will allow the Gazan population to cross over from the southern part the Strip to the north during the first phase of the cease-fire
On day 16 of the agreement, negotiations will begin on the implementation of the second phase, which will include the release of 65 more Israeli hostages
As the deal progresses, the IDF will withdraw to a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip, settling between the Gaza Strip’s population and the Israeli border communities

Israel launched the military campaign following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on its territory. Some 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken as hostages, with around 100 still being held. More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Gaza has a population of just over two million, and 1.9 million have been displaced, according to the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
More than 100 hostages were freed from Gaza in a weeklong truce in November 2023.
(Compiled from various sources)