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Gaza ceasefire deal: What do we know and how will it work? [1]

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Date: 2025-01

What we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal

4 days ago Raffi Berg BBC News

Reuters Almost all Gaza's population has been displaced by the war

Israel's government has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. It is the most significant breakthrough in 15 months of war, which began when the armed Palestinian group attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. While the ceasefire was due to begin at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) on Sunday, it was delayed until 11:15 after Israel said Hamas had not handed over the names of the first 33 hostages due to be released in the deal's first phase.

What is in the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas?

How will the ceasefire work?

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-stage agreement that will come into effect on Sunday. Here is what is understood to be in the deal. First stage The first stage would last 42 days, or six weeks, and see "a full and complete ceasefire", US President Joe Biden said as he confirmed a deal had been reached on Wednesday. Sheikh Mohammed said Hamas would release 33 Israeli hostages, including "civilian women, female soldiers, children, the elderly, and sick and wounded civilians". In exchange, he added, "a number" of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be released. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer previously said most but not all of the 33 hostages - which include children - were thought to still be alive. Three hostages would be released on the first day, a Palestinian official previously told the BBC, with the rest of the exchange taking place at regular intervals over the six weeks. During this first stage, Israeli troops will pull out of "all" populated areas of Gaza, Biden said, while "the Palestinians [could] also return to their neighbourhoods in all the areas of Gaza". A senior Palestinian official involved in the negotiations in Doha told the BBC that under the terms of the agreement, Hamas police in their official blue uniforms will manage the movement of displaced individuals from southern Gaza to the north while avoiding proximity to Israeli forces. It was also agreed that personnel would only carry weapons when absolutely necessary. Almost all of Gaza's 2.3 million people have had to leave their homes as Israel has carried out continuous strikes across the territory and issued mass evacuation orders for large residential areas. There will also be a surge in humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, with hundreds of lorries allowed in each day, as well as the rehabilitation of hospitals, clinics and bakeries, Sheikh Mohammed said. The Palestinian official previously said detailed negotiations for the second and third stages would begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire. Biden said the ceasefire would persist "as long as the negotiations continue". Second stage Stage two would be "a permanent end to the war", according to Biden. The remaining living hostages, including men, would be released in return for more Palestinian prisoners. Of the 1,000 Palestinian prisoners Israel is thought to have agreed to release overall, about 190 are serving sentences of 15 years or more. An Israeli official previously told the BBC that those convicted of murder would not be released into the occupied West Bank. There would also be a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Third stage The third and final stage involves the reconstruction of Gaza - something which could take years - and the return of any remaining hostages' bodies.

Reuters Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages, seized in its attack on Israel in October 2023

What are the unanswered questions about the deal?

Getting to this point has taken months of painstaking indirect negotiations - not least because Israel and Hamas completely distrust each other. Hamas wanted a complete end to the war before it would release the hostages, something which was unacceptable to Israel. The ceasefire deal will in effect pause the war while its terms are carried out. However, it is unclear whether it will mean the war is over for good. One of Israel's key war aims was to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities. Although Israel has severely damaged it, Hamas still has some capacity to operate and regroup. It is also unclear which hostages are alive or dead, or whether Hamas knows the whereabouts of all those who remain unaccounted for. For its part, Hamas has demanded the release of some prisoners which Israel says it will not free. This is believed to include those who were involved in the 7 October attacks. It is not clear how many hostages and prisoners will be exchanged on any given day of the ceasefire, given the complex nature of the ratio agreed under the deal. It is also not known whether Israel will agree to pull out of the buffer zone between it and Gaza by a certain date, or whether its presence there will be open-ended. Any ceasefire is likely to be fragile. Ceasefires between Israel and Hamas which have halted previous wars have been shaken by skirmishes and eventually broken down. The timetable and complexity of this ceasefire means even a small incident could turn into a major threat.

What happened on 7 October 2023 and what has happened in Gaza?

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[1] Url: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy5klgv5zv0o

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