A Gaza ceasefire deal has been reached in negotiations between Israel and Hamas taking place in Doha, Qatar, it was announced on Wednesday, January 16. The deal is yet to be formally agreed, with Israel having delayed a planned meeting for its approval.

Following months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, a ceasefire deal emerged on Wednesday to put a stop to the 15-months genocidal assault launched by Israel on Gaza after the Hamas attack occurred on October 7, 2023.

The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire that will see the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip as well as the release of 33 of the 98 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, including all women, children and men over 50. Two American hostages are also to be released in this phase.

Moreover, the deal calls for a surge in humanitarian aid in Gaza, with the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross saying that they are working on scaling up their operations.

The ceasefire will also entail a second and third phases. By the 16th day of phase one, negotiations on implementing the second stage are to begin, and it is expected that this will include the release of all hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The third stage will see the return of all remaining dead bodies as well as the start of the reconstruction of Gaza, supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations. After that, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel will have to reach a consensus for postwar Gaza, including who will run the Strip following the end of the war.

During a press conference in Doha, where the ceasefire negotiations took place, the Qatari Prime Minister stated that the ceasefire should take effect on Sunday. However, the deal is yet to be formally agreed.

Israel’s acceptance of the deal will not be official until the country’s security cabinet approves. Voting was scheduled on Thursday morning, but the planned meeting was delayed as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of attempting to obtain “last minute concessions”.

An official statement from the office said: “Hamas reneges on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last minute concessions. The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.” Hamas has since stated that they are committed to the ceasefire agreement.

During the night and Thursday morning, at least 70 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, after the ceasefire deal was announced. The Hamas-led health authority in Gaza issued an update on the casualty figures for the war, indicating that over 46,788 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military offensive. The number of wounded had risen to 110,453, with 90% of the population in the Strip being forced to flee their homes.

News of the ceasefire deal was welcomed with jubilation in Gaza, where Palestinians took to the streets to celebrate the news, waving flags and dancing. In Jerusalem instead, protests were staged opposing the deal, with families of Israeli soldiers condemning the ceasefire.

According to Israeli media, the far-right Religious Zionism party led by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that it will abandon Netanyahu’s coalition government unless the Prime Minister agrees to “Israel’s return to the war to destroy Hamas” after the first phase of the ceasefire is complete and hostages are released.

Commenting on the ceasefire announcement, Taoiseach Simon Harris welcomed the deal “after 15 months of immense human suffering and destruction”.

“I hope that all sides will seize this opportunity, fully honouring their commitments, allowing hostages to return to their families and the people of Gaza to begin rebuilding their lives and I hope that it will lead to a permanent arrangement,” Harris said.