The Israeli government is finalizing a historic ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas, marking a crucial step in the war since October 7, 2023. terrorist attack. The deal, approved by Israel’s security cabinet, will take effect on Sunday and the first three hostages are expected to be released. This agreement follows weeks of intensive negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US President Biden and newly elected President Trump for their role in advancing the negotiations. Netanyahu thanked Biden for his efforts and praised Trump’s assertion that Gaza should never again become a “haven for terrorism.”
Trump claimed in a podcast interview that his involvement accelerated the process, saying, “We changed the course of it, and we changed it quickly.”
Under the agreement, Hamas will release 33 hostages in the first phase, including women, children, elderly men and individuals with critical medical needs. Among them are 24-year-old Rumi Gonen, abducted from the Nova music festival, and Shiri Bibas with her two young sons, Ariel and baby Kfir. Families have been notified of the initial releases, while details of subsequent phases will be shared 24 hours before deployment.
ISRAEL-HAMAS ceasefire, hostage release deal reached: ‘Americans will be part of that’
Netanyahu and his cabinet discuss the hostages for a ceasefire at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem. January 17, 2025. (Courtesy of GPO)
Of the three Americans believed alive in Gazaonly two – Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen – were included in the first phase. Sagui’s wife gave birth to their third child while he was in captivity. Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier, is not on the list.
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at FDD and a former Trump NSC official, told Fox News last week that leaving Alexander off the original list “would be a major strategic mistake.”
In return, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, including minors, women and individuals with health problems. Some of the notable prisoners include Nawal Abd Fattah, a 24-year-old convicted of attempting to stab an Israeli man in 2020, and Ibrahim Zmar, a 15-year-old involved in a 2023 shooting in Jerusalem. Those convicted of leading major terror attacks remain excluded from the deal.
A man runs past a billboard with portraits of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, in Jerusalem on January 15, 2025. (Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images)
The agreement stipulates that released prisoners cannot be rearrested on the same charges and are not required to sign a declaration upon release. Each hostage taking of a woman or child equates to the release of thirty Palestinian prisoners, while the release of soldiers carries thirty life sentences and twenty long prison sentences.
CONTACT FEARS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS GET CLOSER TO CONCERNS OF TERROR GROUP REARMED IN GAZA
The agreement also facilitates humanitarian assistance, allowing 600 trucks of supplies to enter Gaza daily. On the 22nd day, displaced Gazans will be allowed to return to northern areas, with security inspections limited to vehicles under Qatari-Egyptian control. The Israeli army will reduce its presence in certain areas while maintaining control of key routes.
The release schedule begins with three hostages on the first day, followed by four on the seventh day. For the next five weeks, groups of three hostages will be released every week until the 35th day. Between the 35th and 42nd days, another 12 hostages will be released, including long-held prisoners including Avera Mengistu, who has been held captive in Gaza for a decade, and Hisham al-Sayed, a mentally ill person who entered Gaza alone. own and has been held there since October 7.
This image from undated bodycam video footage taken by a downed Hamas terrorist and released by the Israeli military shows a Hamas terrorist walking around a residential area at an undisclosed location in southern Israel. The Israeli military gathered a group of foreign correspondents on October 16, 2023, to show a 40-minute series of gruesome footage compiled from the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. (Israeli Armed Forces via AP)
Negotiations for the second phase will begin on the 16th day of the first phase, focusing on the release of young men and soldiers and the return of bodies. This phase starts on the 43rd day and lasts 42 days, with discussions about the remaining prisoners.
“When phase two begins, there will be an exchange for the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and all remaining Israeli forces will be withdrawn from Gaza, making the temporary ceasefire permanent.” President Biden He said this during a press conference on Wednesday. He also noted that phase three would include the return of the remains of hostages killed in captivity and the initiation of a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, emphasized during a cabinet meeting that in his conversations with both President Biden and President-elect Trumpone point was made explicitly clear: if negotiations on the second phase of the agreement fail, Israel will resume military operations.
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IDF forces operate in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip. (IDF spokesperson)
For the hostages’ families, the agreement represents both hope and heartbreak. Ronen and Orna Neutra, of whom American-Israeli son Omer was killed by Hamas and whose body is in Gaza, calling the deal bittersweet.
“It’s a difficult moment. On the one hand, we are happy and excited for the families who will hopefully see their loved ones again after such a long time,” said Orna Neutra. Fox News.
“We are really hopeful that this new government will be able to make the deal happen and will have all the power to push the various parties in the region to implement it. We trust that President Trump, you know, this is important to him and that he will make sure this happens.”
