Iran Qatar: Agreement on Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages
After more than 15 months of fierce fighting, Israel and the Islamist Hamas have agreed on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, according to the mediator Qatar. This was announced by Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani following talks in Doha. It is to come into force on Sunday and will last 42 days in an initial phase.
15.01.2025, 20:19
SDA
It is the first agreement of its kind since a ceasefire more than a year ago. This means that the civilian population of the extensively destroyed coastal strip can also hope for relief from their suffering. "Today we are calling for calm until implementation," said Al Thani.
Efforts by the USA, Egypt and Qatar to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire and Hamas to release its hostages through indirect negotiations have been underway for months. However, the talks have been at a standstill for months.
Biden: "Persistent diplomacy"
According to observers, the temporary end to the fighting in the extensively destroyed coastal area was also made possible by the setbacks for the Iranian-organized "Axis of Resistance" in Lebanon and Syria and threats from US President-elect Donald Trump, who had vehemently demanded an agreement to release the hostages.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden, however, emphasized that the agreement was also due to "persistent and meticulous American diplomacy". His diplomatic efforts had never slackened, Biden said. The deal was based on a plan he had already presented in May.
Initially 33 hostages to be released
The ceasefire will initially apply for six weeks, said Al Thani. During this time, 33 of the hostages are to be released from Hamas control. In return, Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli prisons, as in a previous ceasefire. However, Al Thani did not initially give a figure.
According to Israeli information, a total of 98 detainees are still being held in the Gaza Strip, at least 34 of whom are believed to be dead. According to the Foreign Office in Berlin, a "low double-digit number of people with a connection to Germany" are among the hostages. Parallel to the exchange of hostages for prisoners, the Israeli army is to begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.
Three-phase plan - still many hurdles
According to Al Thani, three phases are planned, the agreement now reached only concerns the first phase. Details of the following phases are to be announced once the ceasefire is in place.
Phase two, which according to media reports is to be negotiated from the 16th day after the ceasefire comes into force, is likely to involve the release of the remaining live hostages and the further withdrawal of the Israeli army.
Hundreds of trucks to deliver relief supplies
Egypt had already prepared for a possible opening and new aid deliveries at the important Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip. Israel's army occupied the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side in May last year. Shortly afterwards, aid deliveries from Egypt stopped arriving via Rafah.
Withdrawal of the Israeli army
According to media reports, Israel's army should gradually withdraw from inhabited areas of the Gaza Strip, but not initially from the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt. Israel fears that Hamas could smuggle weapons back into the Gaza Strip there. The residents who fled to the south of the coastal strip are to be allowed to move freely in the Gaza Strip again and return to their residential areas in the north under international supervision.
Israel wants complete withdrawal only after the return of all hostages
Israeli government representatives had emphasized that the army would not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages were back home. Even after the ceasefire begins, soldiers should remain in a buffer zone on the edge of the Gaza Strip and other areas.
According to a CNN report, the negotiations on the second phase should also be about an end to the war. Hamas has accepted guarantees from the USA, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey that Israel will continue negotiations on this, the Wall Street Journal was told by mediators.
Trump speaks of "epic" Gaza agreement
Even before the official announcement, Trump reacted with relief to reports of an agreement. "We have an agreement for the hostages in the Middle East," he wrote in capital letters on his online mouthpiece Truth Social. "They will be released shortly. Thank you." In another message on Truth Social, he spoke of an "epic ceasefire agreement".
Israeli cabinet still has to approve
The agreement still needs the approval of the Israeli security cabinet and the Israeli government. According to Israeli media, it is due to meet at 11.00 a.m. local time (10.00 a.m. GMT) on Thursday to approve the deal. The government is also due to meet immediately afterwards. According to his office, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar broke off his trip to Europe to take part in the votes. Far-right coalition partners of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to leave the government in the event of a ceasefire.
Massacre triggered war
The longest armed conflict in the history of the state of Israel was triggered by the massacre carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7, 2023, which left 1,200 people dead and more than 250 displaced. Israel responded with attacks against Hamas in Gaza in which, according to Palestinian figures, more than 46,700 people were killed and more than 110,200 injured. The casualty figures, which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, cannot be independently verified, but have been deemed credible by the United Nations.
Hamas released 105 hostages as part of a one-week ceasefire in November 2023. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its jails.
