Israel and Hamas have agreed on terms for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Qatari and Egyptian mediators announced late today after weeks of tough negotiations in Doha with US backing: a deal that comes just days before Donald Trump takes office and seeks to end a 15-month conflict that has left thousands dead and many questions still on the table about the future of the Palestinian enclave.
Several international agencies confirmed the news, noting that senior representatives of both Hamas and the United States – in addition to outgoing President Joe Biden – have confirmed the deal, which calls for the release in two phases of about 100 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel; initially 33 women, children, elderly and wounded civilians will be released by Hamas (although it is not known how many of them are still alive), while the release of male hostages and soldiers will take place during the second phase of the deal.
The agreement also provides for the return of those displaced by the conflict in Gaza – some 90% of the Strip’s 2.3 million inhabitants, many of them suffering of extreme hunger – to their homes (or rather to what is left of them) and the massive influx of much-needed humanitarian aid into the territory. The initial six-week phase envisages a truce during which negotiations on the end of the war and the future of Gaza will begin.
The plan has yet to be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet, but it looks set to be ratified immediately despite protests from the most radical elements of his government, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, both far-right politicians who profess a Jewish supremacist and anti-Arab ideology.
The deal opens the door to hope for an end to a war that has left more than 46,000 people dead in Gaza alone, the vast majority of them civilians and more than half of them women and children, although credible reports put the actual death toll at at least double. However, many questions remain open, starting with how Palestinians will return to homes mostly destroyed by Israeli bombardment, how the massive reconstruction operation in the Strip will be carried out, who will govern the enclave, or whether there will be a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a key Hamas demand for the release of all hostages kidnapped during the massive attack of 7 October 2023.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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