Hamas and Israel agree truce and POW-swap deal: As it happened
Israel and Hamas have reportedly reached a ceasefire agreement to end their 15-month conflict in Gaza. The deal, mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, includes a 42-day truce and the exchange of prisoners.
The official announcement is expected on Wednesday evening in Cairo, but US President-elect Donald Trump has already made several statements confirming that the agreement has been reached, crediting his envoy Steve Witkoff for the breakthrough.
Hamas launched a series of raids out of Gaza on October 7, 2023, which were blamed for the deaths of over 1,100 Israelis, while 250 Israelis were said to have been taken captive. West Jerusalem responded by declaring war on the Palestinian militant group. More than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, while much of the enclave has been turned to rubble.
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16 January 2025
06:50 GMTThe Israel-Hamas deal is split into three phases, although work on the details of the latter stages is still reportedly underway.
According to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Hamas and its allies will release 33 hostages, including children, female soldiers, wounded and sick, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinians as part of the first phase.
An unnamed Israeli official told CNN that the terms of the second phase are still being negotiated, but that they should go into effect on the 16th day of the deal.
According to US President Joe Biden, the second stage would require the exchange of the remaining prisoners, including male soldiers. This phase will also involve Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, Biden said.
The third stage, he added, would focus on returning the remains of the hostages to their families and the reconstruction of Gaza.
- 06:27 GMT
Senior Hamas leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya has thanked Russia, China, Türkiye and several other nations for their support of the Palestinian people after reports of the ceasefire deal.
In a televised address, he singled out Qatar and Egypt for their mediation efforts and hosting several rounds of talks that paved the way for the agreement.
- 05:52 GMT
European leaders have welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, calling for its consistent implementation.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the deal as “good news,” noting that the hostages include German citizens. “This agreement must now be implemented to the letter. All of the hostages must be released.”
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the truce, emphasizing the need for a durable peace. “The agreement must be respected. The hostages freed. The Gazans rescued. A political solution must come”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised the agreement as “long-overdue,” and expressed hope that it would lead to a “permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people, grounded in a two-state solution.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed the sentiment, saying the deal “brings hope to an entire region, where people have endured immense suffering for far too long.”
- 04:52 GMT
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has accused Hamas of attempting to backtrack on previously agreed “understandings” concerning the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
“Contrary to an explicit clause that gives Israel veto power over the release of mass murderers who are symbols of terror, Hamas demands to dictate the identity of these terrorists,” the statement said. “The Prime Minister instructed the negotiating team to stand firm on the agreed understandings, and to outright reject Hamas’s last-minute extortion attempts.”
- 03:26 GMT
The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, has confirmed the organization’s readiness to assist in implementing the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian factions.
“We are ready to facilitate any release operation as agreed by the parties so that hostages and detainees can return home. We are also prepared to massively scale up our humanitarian response in Gaza, where the situation demands it,” Spoljaric said.
Speaking in Jerusalem during her visit to Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, Spoljaric emphasized the ICRC’s commitment to reuniting families, facilitating the release of hostages and detainees, and delivering much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Civilians in Gaza need protection and humanitarian aid. The hostages need to come home. This is only possible with political commitment from all sides to put humanity first and respect the rules of war,” she said.
- 02:22 GMT
US President Joe Biden began his farewell address to the nation by taking full credit for brokering the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
“Before I begin, let me speak to important news from earlier today. After eight months of nonstop negotiation, my administration – by my administration – a ceasefire and hostage deal has been reached by Israel and Hamas, the elements of which I laid out in great detail in May of this year,” Biden stated.
“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed, because that’s how it should be, working together as Americans,” he added.
President-elect Donald Trump, however, also claimed responsibility for the breakthrough following months of stalled negotiations.
“Is that a joke?” Biden reportedly asked earlier in the day when questioned by a reporter about who history would credit for the ceasefire.
- 00:16 GMT
The World Health Organization’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has welcomed a ceasefire in Gaza, expressing hope that all parties will respect the deal and work towards lasting peace.
“Too many lives have been lost and too many families have suffered,” Tedros wrote on X.
“Health needs in Gaza remain enormous,” he noted, adding that the WHO “is ready to scale up its support, alongside partners.”
15 January 2025
23:18 GMTAt least 12 people were killed, and several others injured in a new Israeli attack on a residential block in the Sheikh Radwan Pond area of Gaza City, Al Jazeera reports, citing the Palestinian Civil Defence.
The rescue agency has accused the IDF of intensifying its bombardment despite the announcement of a ceasefire, which is scheduled to take effect on Sunday.
- 23:08 GMT
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, has also welcomed the ceasefire announcement.
“This agreement will finally bring much needed respite for the people of Gaza and the release of hostages,” he wrote in a post on X. “What’s needed is rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war.”
- 22:34 GMT
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has expressed “huge relief” over the announced ceasefire deal, while emphasizing the urgency of addressing critical humanitarian needs in Gaza, where relentless bombing and combat have left much of the region in ruins.
”I urge parties to the conflict and all countries with influence to do everything in their power to ensure the success of the next stages of the ceasefire, including the release of all hostages and an end to the war in its entirety,” he said in a statement.
The UN rights chief also underscored the importance of accountability for violations of international law committed by all sides in the conflict. “Those responsible for the heinous acts of 7 October, the subsequent unlawful killings of civilians across Gaza, and for all other crimes under international law must be held to account,” he said. “The right of victims to full reparations must be upheld. There is no true way forward without honest truth-telling and accountability on all sides.”
Hugely relieved by the news of the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza. It is imperative that it now holds. I urge parties to the conflict & all countries with influence to ensure the success of next stages, including the release of all hostages & to end the war in its entirety. https://t.co/tRsCCesUQJ
— Volker Türk (@volker_turk) January 15, 2025Calling for a focus on human rights in Gaza’s eventual reconstruction, Türk reiterated the need for a lasting peace rooted in the internationally agreed two-state solution, denouncing “Israel’s illegal continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”