Israel and Hamas have reached a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, offering hope for an end to Israel's genocidal attacks on the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
The deal, coming after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It also would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a devastated territory.
Three officials from the U.S. and one from Hamas confirmed that a deal had been reached, while a senior Israeli official said details are still being ironed out.
All three U.S. officials and the Hamas official requested anonymity to discuss the contours of the deal before the official announcement by mediators in Doha.
U.S. President Joe Biden was preparing to address the breakthrough agreement later Thursday, officials said.
Any agreement still needs to be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet but is expected to go into effect in the coming days. The Israeli government will vote on the deal on Thursday, with a majority of ministers expected to approve the deal, a government official told Reuters.
The deal is expected to deliver an initial six-week halt to fighting that is to be accompanied by the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether.
Over six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, though it's unclear if all are alive.
It remained unclear exactly when and how many displaced Palestinians would be able to return to what remains of their homes and whether the agreement would lead to a complete end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza - key Hamas demands for releasing the remaining captives.
Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.
