Palestinians react to news of a cease-fire deal with Israel, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Jan. 15, 2025. (Credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of events in the region today, notably the announcement by Egyptian and Qatari mediators that a cease-fire agreement has been reach between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. We'll be back tomorrow, with more news and analysis. Goodnight!
After months of sporadic and interrupted attempts at mediating between Hamas and Israel, Qatari and Egyptian negotiators managed to facilitate an agreement between the warring sides, bringing a pause and possible end to 15 months of a devastating military onslaught on Gaza, where Israeli bombardment has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Several media outlets, including Reuters, AFP and Middle East Eye (MEE) have spoken to Palestinian and Israeli sources and viewed a copy of the a deal, the details of which include outlines for a time frame and the manner through which the Israeli army will withdraw and hostages will be released. The deal includes three stages, with overlapping negotiations beginning during each stage in preparation for the next.
Hamas' acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised address cited by Reuters that Israel failed to achieve its goals in Gaza, shortly after a cease-fire deal was announced, the primary goal being to eradicate Hamas, which has continued to fight Israeli soldiers and fire rockets into Israeli territory.
Hayya also vowed the Palestinian group will neither forgive or forget Israel's devastating military onslaught against Palestinians in the beseiged enclave.
Yemen's Houthis saluted "resistance groups" in Gaza following the announcement of the cease-fire deal, saying that Israel's occupation of Palestine "continues to be a threat to the stability and security of the region," according to a statement by the group's spokesman on Telegram, cited by Reuters.
The United States wants to see aid deliveries to Gaza after the cease-fire agreed reach more than 500 trucks a day, the U.S. State Department said.
"We're looking at a massive infusion of trucks. ... It won't happen overnight, but we want to get up to over 500 trucks a day," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular news briefing, cited by Reuters.
Earlier this evening, an OCHA spokesperson told Reuters that the U.N. aid organization "can only deliver as much as the conditions on the ground allow for us to do so."
"As the president of the State of Israel, I say in the clearest terms: This is the right move," Isaac Herzog told the press while addressing the news of a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
"This is an important move. This is a necessary move. There is no greater moral, human, Jewish, or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us, whether to recover at home, or to be laid to rest," Haaretz cites him as saying. Herzog called "upon the cabinet and the government of Israel to accept and approve it when presented." The Israeli government is expected to vote on the cease-fire deal tomorrow (Thursday).
"Let there be no illusions. This deal — when signed, approved, and implemented — will bring with it deeply painful, challenging, and harrowing moments. It will also present significant challenges," Herzog said.
Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the announcement of a truce in Gaza, which “puts an end to a bloody page in the history of the Palestinian people, who have suffered so much under Israeli aggression,” according to remarks cited by state-run National News Agency.
“We hope that this ceasefire will be permanent and that Israel will respect it, so that we can then achieve a definitive resolution of the Palestinian cause and give the Palestinians their legitimate rights,” Mikati said.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the reportedly imminent cease-fire between Hamas and Israel is a "bad and dangerous deal for the national security of the State of Israel," according to a statement cited by Haaretz.
"Along with the great joy and excitement of the return of each and every hostage, the deal takes back many achievements of the war in which the heroes of this nation gave their lives and will cost us, God forbid, a lot of blood," he said, adding "We oppose it with all force."
🔴 Qatar's prime minister has announced that the cease-fire agreement, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said still had unresolved issues, will begin on Sunday, Jan. 19, AFP reports.
Testimonies from Gaza: Photographer Momin Faiz shared his gratitude, saying, "Thank you. Praise be to God. We are in a state of blessing from Him." Of conditions in Gaza right now, he said telecommunication connection was intermittent and overwhelmed. "The internet is very weak and under heavy pressure," he said, unable to elaborate on the situation before losing signal.
Read Ghadir Hamadi's piece, "'I will remain here as a thorn in Israel's throat,'" about Faiz from earlier in the war.
Israeli forces will begin their withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor and complete it no later than the 50th day of the cease-fire, as laid out in the cease-fire agreement, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Earlier this evening, Egyptian sources were quoted as saying that Israeli soldiers had already started to withdraw this afternoon from the corridor, which runs along the Egypt-Gaza border.
The United Nations is committed to delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the cease-fire, but "we can only deliver as much as the conditions on the ground allow for us to do so," a U.N. aid spokesperson told Reuters.
"The removal of the various impediments the U.N. has been facing during the last year — which include restrictions on the entry of goods; the lack of safety and security; the breakdown of law and order; and the lack of fuel — is a must," said Eri Kaneko, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
⚡ Israel says issues remain "unresolved" regarding the truce deal in Gaza and hopes to conclude "tonight," AFP reported. Citing official Egyptian media, it adds that talks are underway to open the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza to humanitarian aid.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday evening that there were still issues “to be settled” in the cease-fire agreement with Hamas, but that it hoped to conclude “tonight.”
“Several issues remain to be settled in the agreement and we hope that the details will be finalized tonight,” said the statement from the Prime Minister's Office. A source close to the talks in Doha announced earlier this evening that Israel and Hamas had agreed a truce deal, and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced the same shortly after.
To find out key elements of the cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel, press here.👈
(Credit: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)
Palestinians react to the news on a cease-fire deal with Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 15, 2025.
Testimony from Gaza:
For 53-year-old Samia Hisham "the cease-fire marks the beginning of mourning."
She had lost two of her sons last month and "still did not have my time to mourn them properly. My only focus was on getting through the day." She believes she will remain in her tent "till God sends a miracle," because she had lost her house in Shatee refugee camp last November after "barbaric Israeli attacks on the camp."
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the Gaza cease-fire agreement as "an important step for regional stability," according to Reuters. He also affirmed that Turkey would continue its efforts to promote a two-state solution.
In Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon, anticipation is mixed with concern over potential celebratory gunfire following the announcement of a truce agreement in Gaza, reported our correspondent in southern Lebanon. Gatherings are forming outside mosques, with residents spreading out through the streets to discourage people from firing shots into the air.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will work with Israel and its allies to ensure that Gaza never becomes "a haven for terrorists," reported Reuters. He added that he will "advance and expand the Abraham Accords."
Signed in Washington in 2020 during Trump's presidency, the Abraham Accords were agreements between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel, brokered under U.S. auspices. These accords formalized the normalization of diplomatic relations among the three countries.
Testimony from Rafah, Gaza:
"I almost can't believe it. The war is over, my house is still standing and tomorrow I'm leaving my tent and heading back home. This is a dream come true," Nada Faiz, mother of one-year-old Karim told L'Orient Today via a phone call from Rafah where she has been in a tent with her son, husband and mother-in-law.
🔴 Israel and Hamas have reached agreement to end fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, paving the way for a possible end to a 15-month war that has rocked the Middle East.
The agreement follows months of intermittent negotiations, facilitated by Egyptian and Qatari mediators with U.S. support, and came just before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
Civil Defense has recovered the remains of a victim of Israeli airstrikes in Naqoura and transferred them to the Jabal Amel hospital, where analyses and DNA tests will be carried out to determine the identity of the deceased. Civil Defense search and rescue teams have been working for a month now to uncover the bodies of people who were buried under the rubble of Israeli bombardments and dozens of remains have been retrieved and sent to hospitals for DNA testing.
⚡ Citing “a senior American source,” Axios journalist Barak Ravid claims that “the Gaza cease-fire and hostage exchange agreement has been reached."
AFP reports that the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed ben Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, has met Hamas officials to finalize the Gaza truce agreement. The Qatari prime minister "is meeting Hamas negotiators in his office in a last-ditch effort to reach a truce in Gaza and an agreement on the release of the hostages,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.
Israeli fire targeted the fields around Khiam, in the Marjayoun district, from the hill of Hamames, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South reports, and the Israeli army continues to blow up buildings in Aita al-Shaab, in Bint Jbeil district.
According to a report from Axios journalist Barak Ravid, the Israeli negotiating team was recently informed that Hamas had decided "at the last minute" to add new demands to the cease-fire deal, concerning specifically the Philadelphia corridor, "contrary to the maps already approved by the cabinet and the American mediators."
"Israel firmly opposes any modification of these maps,” Ravid reported.
The Israeli government is expected to vote on a Gaza cease-fire deal tomorrow (Thursday), according to a statement from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, cited by Reuters.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was cutting his visit to Europe short today so that he could take part in security cabinet and government votes on a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal, Reuters reports.
"Following the progress in the hostage release negotiations, Minister Sa'ar cut short his diplomatic visit, which was scheduled to continue tomorrow in Hungary. He will return to Israel tonight to participate in the expected discussions and votes in the Security Cabinet and government," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will hold a press conference tonight in Doha to announce that a hostage and cease-fire deal has been reached, Qatari news channel al-Araby al-Jadeed reported.
Moreover, according to Haaretz, al-Araby has cited Egyptian sources as reporting that most of the Israeli forces stationed at the Philadelphi Corridor that runs along the border between Gaza and Egypt left in recent hours. Earlier this week, Haaretz reported that the Israeli army had approved plans for the rapid withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the Gaza Strip as mediation efforts accelerated.
⚡ Three people have been killed in the first Israeli strike targeting Syria's new leadership, AFP reports. According to al-Hadath and al-Mayadeen, both cited by Haaretz, it was a drone strike on “a group of soldiers” near the southern Syrian town of Quneitra.
Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad approved the agreement being discussed in Doha for a truce and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP.
" The resistance groups reached an agreement among themselves and informed the mediators of their approval of the exchange agreement [of hostages held captive in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners] and the cease-fire," said one of the sources reached by telephone from Cairo. Another Palestinian source close to the discussions confirmed these remarks, also on condition of anonymity.
A trusted Israeli source, cited by Haaretz, said that the Israeli government is preparing to meet tonight or tomorrow morning to ratify the cease-fire agreement, along with the list of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Meanwhile, a foreign source involved in the negotiations told Haaretz that it is still unclear whether the deal will be completed today or tomorrow.
Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump's incoming national security adviser, said: "We need to get [our citizens] out of Gaza and pursue our goals in this conflict," according to comments reported by Haaretz.
"We have been clear that Gaza must be completely demilitarized, that Hamas must be destroyed to the point that it cannot reconstitute itself and that Israel has the right to fully protect itself," Waltz said.
Seven American hostages are still being held hostage to this day in the enclave, which has been besieged and bombed by Israel for more than a year.
A third Israeli official confirmed to Axios that there had been a "breakthrough in the negotiations" currently taking place in Doha over a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. "The Hamas military leader in Gaza, Mohammad Sinwar, has given his approval" to the list of hostages to be released, journalist Barak Ravid reported.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, on Wednesday called for an easing of economic sanctions against Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, during an unprecedented visit to the war-torn country.
"As the international community considers the issue of sanctions, it is essential to keep in mind the impact they have on the lives of the Syrian people," Turk told a news conference in Damascus. "I therefore call for an urgent review of the sanctions ... with a view to lifting them."
Turk, meanwhile, said that "transitional justice is crucial as Syria moves forward" after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, while adding that "revenge and settling scores are never the solution."
An Israeli official reported "positive progress in negotiations in Doha regarding the Gaza hostage deal and ceasefire," Axios reporter Barak Ravid reports.
"We are optimistic that an agreement on the hostages and the cease-fire will be reached by tomorrow at the latest," another Israeli official told the reporter.
The Gaza Strip's health ministry said in a statement that the latest Israeli attacks have killed 62 people in the past 24 hours.
This brings the total death toll to at least 46,707 Palestinians killed and 110,265 injured in the enclave since the start of the Israeli army's offensive on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz as part of hostage negotiations, Haaretz reports.
Israeli army Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an evacuation order shortly after 2 p.m. to residents of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
The message shared on social media orders residents of several neighborhoods to "evacuate immediately" to shelters in central Gaza City, "in preparation for an attack by Israeli forces," it said in the statement.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned that Turkey had the power and ability to "crush" all terrorists in Syria, including Islamic State and Kurdish militants, according to Reuters.
Erdogan also urged all countries to "take their hands off" Syria.
Speaking in parliament, Erdogan said the "YPG was the biggest problem in Syria now, and added that the group would not be able to escape its inevitable end unless it lays down its arms," according to Reuters.
"Regarding fabricated excuses like Islamic State, these have no convincing side anymore," Erdogan said, referring to the U.S. position that the YPG was a key partner against Islamic State in Syria.
"If there is really a fear of the Islamic State threat in Syria and the region, the biggest power that has the will and power to resolve this issue is Turkey," he said.
A delegation from the cease-fire monitoring committee is currently in Naqoura (Sour) and will tour the western sector of south Lebanon, Al-Jadeed reported.
Israeli drones flew over Beirut and its outskirts, residents said, with their noises being heard throughout the city.
The president of the municipality of Aitaroun, Salim Mourad, confirmed to L'Orient Today that the Lebanese army entered the village this Wednesday morning to carry out road clearing work, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.
"This morning, the army opened several roads inside the village that had been blocked by the Israeli army with mounds of earth and obstacles," he said, noting that the army had not yet deployed to its positions located on the outskirts of Aitaroun due to the presence of the Israeli army.
Mourad reiterated the warning to residents not to return to the village, as the situation there remains "dangerous." Israeli soldiers carried out new dynamiting of houses on Tuesday in the village, as they do on a daily basis in many border localities that remain occupied since the ceasefire in Lebanon came into force.
The Civil Defense said that several people were injured by the strike and that they were transported, along with the deceased, to the al-Ahli Hospital, which is only partially functioning.
At dawn, six dead and several wounded were taken to al-Awda Hospital after an Israeli strike on a house in Nuseirat, according to the same source.
The Israeli military confirmed that it carried out several strikes overnight in Gaza, saying in a statement that they were "precise" and targeted "terrorists." In the past 24 hours, the military said it had struck more than 50 targets across the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Civil Defense reported Wednesday that 24 people were killed in several Israeli strikes that occurred overnight in the Palestinian territory, which has been embroiled in a war between Israel and Hamas for more than 15 months.
The new strikes come as negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement are now "in the final stages" according to Qatar. 11 people, including a seven-year-old child, were killed by an airstrike on a house in Deir al-Balah around midnight, the Palestinian Civil Defense said on Wednesday.
Rescuers also reported the death of seven people following an Israeli strike on the al-Farabi school in the northern Gaza City. Residents forced to flee their homes due to the fighting, like most Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, had taken refuge in the building in the Yarmouk area.
The municipality of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil) called on its residents not to move around the village or take photos of buildings to avoid possible Israeli attacks.
"The Israeli enemy is waiting for us at the turn. Walking around the village and taking pictures is dangerous ... Every time a picture is taken, the enemy burns and blows up what remains of the homes," the municipality said in a statement. "After several residents were intimidated or attacked, we ask you not to go to the village, pending authorization from the security forces and the Lebanese army," it added.
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze pledged to support "peaceful and stable" development in Syria during a visit to Damascus to meet with transitional authorities.
"After more than 50 years of dictatorship and 14 years of civil war, Syria now has an opportunity to begin stable and peaceful development," the minister said in a statement.
"It would be a mistake for us not to seize this historic opportunity to help Syria make a new start," she added, assuring that "Germany can do a lot to support the new start of Syrian society."
"As the new Syrian leadership seeks to recover the skilled personnel who fled the country" after the start of the civil war in 2011, "Germany also has an interest in retaining them," the minister added.
The international community will have to keep up pressure on Israel to accept the creation of a Palestinian state after a truce, presented as imminent, in the Gaza Strip, said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa. "The cease-fire we are talking about ... is mainly due to international pressure."
"This shows that pressure is working," Mustafa said ahead of a meeting in Oslo on the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine in the Middle East. Israel "must understand what is right and what is wrong, and that the veto power over peace and Palestinian statehood will no longer be accepted or tolerated," he told reporters.
U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced yesterday that he is extending his executive order imposing sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank for another year, beyond its initial expiration date of Feb. 1, 2025.
"The situation in the West Bank – particularly the high levels of violence by extremist settlers, the forced displacement of people and villages, and the destruction of property – has reached intolerable levels and poses a serious threat to the peace, security and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel and the broader Middle East region," he wrote in an official statement.
Moreover, when asked by a journalist whether Hamas was about to accept a cease-fire, Joe Biden responded by crossing his fingers.
An Israeli source told Haaretz that negotiations on a cease-fire in Gaza are ongoing and that Israel has not yet received Hamas' response to the latest version of the agreement.
The source also denied a Reuters report on Tuesday that the group had not yet submitted its response to mediators because Israel had not submitted maps for its withdrawal from Gaza.
Foreign hostages are not expected to be included in the first phase of the deal being hammered out between Israel and Hamas, Haaretz reports.
In recent days, the Thai and Nepalese governments have stepped up efforts to free their nationals held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli daily. These diplomatic efforts come as these foreign hostages are not expected to be released as part of the first part of the agreement that appears imminent between the two warring parties, according to several sources.
During the negotiations, Israel reportedly focused on the release of Israeli citizens. However, Tel Aviv demanded that all remaining hostages, including foreign nationals, be released in the second part of the deal, Haaretz continues.
A foreign official familiar with the negotiations said Israel believes Hamas will release the foreign hostages in any event – whether in the first or second part of the emerging deal – as a gesture of goodwill toward those countries, just as the Palestinian movement did in the previous hostage release deal in November 2023.
Hamas is currently holding eight Thai citizens, one Nepalese citizen, and one Tanzanian citizen, all of whom were abducted from Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a statement that Israel was "at a critical and fateful hour" for its "security, its future and its existence," according to comments reported by Haaretz.
"There is only one goal before me, which I pursue with fear and respect: how to achieve all the goals of the war – a complete victory, the total destruction of Hamas, both its military wing and its civilian infrastructure, and the return of all the hostages," Smotrich said.
On Tuesday, the latter met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss details of the proposed hostage-taking deal, after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Bezalel Smotrich to join him in quitting the government if Israel accepted the Gaza cease-fire deal.
A cease-fire agreement in Gaza has already been reached, but its announcement is being delayed due to disagreements over implementation mechanisms, a senior Palestinian source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
According to the source, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to sabotage the deal and delay its progress at the last minute by insisting that Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas be included in the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the deal.
On Tuesday, a Hamas source told Reuters that the Palestinian movement had not yet submitted its response to mediators because Israel had not submitted maps for its troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Last night, the Israeli army carried out bombings in Aita al-Shaab and Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil) and in Markaba, Meis al-Jabal and Kfar Kila (Marjeyoun).
Israelis and Gazans eagerly awaited the long-awaited truce deal yesterday, with relatives of hostages calling for their release and displaced Palestinians praying for a chance to return home.
Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday proposed sending an international security force to Gaza and placing the Palestinian territory under U.N. responsibility.
He also said that the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative authority in the occupied West Bank, should regain control of Gaza in the future.
Hamas said it wanted "a clear and comprehensive agreement."
"We are close to the goal, but not there yet," an Israeli official said. Israel would not leave Gaza, however, "until all the hostages have returned, the living and the dead," they stressed.
According to Israeli media, Israel is to maintain a "buffer zone" in the Gaza Strip during the first phase of the deal. Israeli forces are to remain present up to "800 meters deep into the territory, in an area extending from Rafah in the south to Beit Hanoun in the north," according to a source close to Hamas.
According to an Israeli official, negotiations for the second phase of the agreement will begin on the "16th day" after the first phase comes into force.
The second phase will involve the release of the remaining hostages, "i.e. soldiers and men of draft age and [the return] of the bodies of the dead hostages," according to the Times of Israel.
As Israel steps up deadly strikes in the besieged Palestinian territory, 61 people were killed in 24 hours, according to the latest report from the Hamas Health Ministry.
The Israeli army said it had targeted "Hamas terrorists."
According to two sources close to Hamas, 33 hostages are to be released during the first phase of the deal in the making, in exchange for a thousand Palestinians held by Israel. The captives would be released "in groups, starting with children and women," according to one of them.
The Israeli government confirmed that it was seeking the release of "33 hostages" during the first stage, and was prepared to release "hundreds" of Palestinian prisoners.
While both sides are still making demands, U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, in a call yesterday, urged them "to show the necessary flexibility," according to the Egyptian presidency.
Qatar, the main mediator with the United States and Egypt, said the negotiations were "at the final stage" and the "main problems" had been resolved, without specifying which ones.
"We hope that this will lead to an agreement very soon," said a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
According to two sources close to Hamas, 33 hostages are to be released during the first phase of the deal in the making, in exchange for a thousand Palestinians held by Israel. The captives would be released "in groups, starting with children and women," according to one of them.
The ongoing talks in Qatar are taking place with Hamas and Israeli negotiators present in two separate rooms, according to a source familiar with the talks.
Negotiators meeting to reach a cease-fire in Gaza are seeking Wednesday to finalize an agreement, now "in the final stages" according to Qatar after 15 months of a war between Israel and Hamas that has left tens of thousands dead in the Palestinian territory.
A few days before Donald Trump's return to the White House on Jan. 20, indirect discussions have intensified in Doha with a view to a truce associated with the release of hostages held in Gaza since the attack by the Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war.
Be sure to read the Morning Brief so you are caught up with what has been happening.
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