The United States and mediator Qatar have said that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza and a deal to release hostages.
If the Israeli cabinet and government formally approve the deal, which has yet to happen, the first six-week phase will take effect on January 19.
The agreement comes after 15 months of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas and the political movement.
The current conflict began when hundreds of Hamas fighters stormed Israel’s southern border on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign, beginning with an immediate aerial bombardment and then a full-scale ground offensive on October 27. Since then, Israel has attacked targets in Gaza by land, sea and air, while Hamas has fired rockets into Israel.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 46,700 people – mostly civilians – have been killed in Israeli strikes.
Here is a reminder of the main events of the negotiations.
2023
October 7: Hundreds of gunmen led by Hamas launched an unprecedented offensive into southern Israel, breaching the border fence and targeting nearby settlements, police stations and military bases. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken back to Gaza. Hamas also fires thousands of rockets at Israel. The Israeli military immediately responded with air and artillery strikes on Gaza.
October 27: Israel launched a ground attack on Gaza. Israel’s massive military campaign will continue to devastate Gaza, displacing most of its 2.3 million population, and killing more than 46,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
November 21: Hamas, brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, released 105 hostages in exchange for about 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails during a week-long ceasefire. Israel and Hamas Blame each other Due to the end of the ceasefire.
December 28: Shuttle diplomacy begins over a new agreement on a cease-fire and hostage release.
2024
May 31: US President Joe Biden Diagram one The Israeli proposal For a three-phase ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. This forms the basis of the treaty that is agreed eight months later.
June 10: United Nations Security Council Passes a resolution. Support the ceasefire plan.
July 31: Negotiations are suspended. After the killing of Israel Talks between Hamas political leader and chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran resume two weeks later, initially in the absence of Hamas.
October 17: Israeli forces Killed the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar. In southern Gaza, Netanyahu calls it “the beginning of the end” of the war.
November 9: After months without progress, Qatar Stops your efforts. As a mediator in the talks, he says Israel and Hamas need to change their positions. Both sides are blaming each other for the deadlock.
November 20: America Vetoes a draft. A UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire said it “abandoned” the need for a “link between the ceasefire and the release of the hostages”.
November 27: Israel Agreement on a cease-fire Lebanon to end a 13-month conflict with the armed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, that began with the Gaza war. It reignited hope for a deal in Gaza, with Biden saying he would press further with regional powers.
December 2: The newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump Says “All Hell Will Pay” If the hostages in Gaza are not released by the time he returns to the White House on January 20, 2025.
December 17: A senior Palestinian official It is called indirect communication. are in the “decisive and final stages”, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says a deal is closer than ever.
2025
January 13: Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone about the conversation during Biden’s final week in office, according to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blanken. There was an agreement “too close” And that he hoped to “finish it” before Trump took office.
January 15: Qatar’s prime minister says Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire and hostage-free deal in Gaza that will come into effect on January 19. Biden says it will “stop the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and reunite hostages with their families”.