A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has been agreed to after 15 months of fighting with hostage deals and aid surge.
How was the ceasefire reached?
After more than 460 days of conflict and desperate pleas for a ceasefire, the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel have agreed to pause fighting in a three-phase ceasefire deal. It was announced on January 15 by Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, that an agreement was reached by both groups for a ceasefire, and it would go into effect on the 19th of January 2025.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have played a mediating role in negotiating between Hamas and Israel, with former US president, Joe Biden, being the one who proposed the framework of the ceasefire that he put on the table back in May 2024. Since then, it is argued that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar played a role in the ceasefire going into action. The parties reached a deal and finally announced the ceasefire that started four days later with the hope that the deal will bring a permanent end to the fighting.
Whilst Israel has been occupying Palestinian land for decades, Gaza became a target for Israeli strikes after a Hamas-led attack. On October seventh, 2023, Hamas orchestrated an attack on Israel which killed around 1,200 people and about 250 people were captured and taken into the Gaza Strip. The massacre was followed by Israel’s barbaric attacks on Palestinians which led to the killing of 46,000 Palestinians, the Health Ministry says. However, Al Jazeera revealed the death toll could be significantly higher as it is estimated that the more accurate death toll is over 61,000, having added people who are missing that are presumed dead and bodies that have not been recovered from the rubble.
As a result, an investigation done by Amnesty International concluded that Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Now that a ceasefire has been agreed to after 15 months of conflict, it will take place in three different stages:
Stage one :
A 42-day (six week) period where:
· There will be a halt to fighting
· There will be 33 hostages including women, children and some older men released by Hamas
· Displaced Palestinians will begin returning to their homes
· Aid lorries will be allowed into Gaza
· Israel will release Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, including young children
· Israel will withdraw forces from Gaza but will remain in the border areas
Stage two :
After 16 days, on February fourth, negotiations will begin in the second stage which will include:
· A permanent ceasefire
· The rest of Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons
· The border between Rafah and Egypt will open, allowing wounded and sick civilians to be allowed to leave
· Around 50 injured fighters a day will also be allowed to leave
· Israeli forces will completely withdraw
Stage three :
· The reconstruction of Gaza, which is estimated to take years
· Bodies of remaining captives will be returned
What now?
Stage one of the ceasefire deal is currently in action; the hostage and prisoner deals have begun with many have been released on both sides. Some are still set to be released through the ongoing stages. With a population of about two million Palestinians in Gaza, about 500,000 are returning to their homes with many of them finding nothing but rubble as approximately 74 percent of Gaza City’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed by Israel. Sabrine Zanoun, 44, told BBC: “We are happy to see our family again… [but] it is also so sad it makes you cry – the destroyed houses, the rubble”.
Additionally, aid is now entering Gaza through the north and south crossing. Since the ceasefire, over 32,000 metric tons of aid has entered Gaza.
Whilst there are high hopes the ceasefire deal will play out according to the plan, tension between two groups is extremely high – especially as Israel has continued to kill many Palestinians since the ceasefire has gone into action, including sniping and killing a ten year old child in Rafah then opening fire on a man trying to recover his body, one day after the ceasefire began.
Whilst both former US President Joe Biden and current US President Donald Trump took credit for the ceasefire deal coming into place, Trump made the comment that there is “no guarantees” the ceasefire will hold but many are remaining hopeful on the matter.