Breaking: The Long-Awaited Ceasefire Deal Between Israel and Hamas 

United States: After 15 months of devastating conflict, Israel and Hamas have reached a tentative ceasefire and hostage release agreement, according to mediators in the US and Qatar. If approved by the Israeli cabinet, the first phase of this deal is set to take effect on January 19th. 

This comes after the October 7th attack by Hamas fighters, who crossed Israel’s southern border, killing around 1,200 people, and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza. Now, with the potential for a fragile pause, the world waits to see if this moment of peace will hold. 

It will be pertinent to ask what led to the ceasefire deal. 

2023 

7 October: About 400 Hamas-led gunmen cross a border into southern Israel, bringing tons of heavy weapons with them and aim at several communities in the area, police stations, as well as army bases. 600 to 750 are killed, 251 hostages are taken back to Gaza. Hamas also continually shoots thousands of rockets into the territory of Israel. And, within the briefest of moments, the Israeli military answers with aerial bombardments and shelling of Gaza. 

27 October: Israel moves into Gaza on the ground. Israel’s large-scale operation will continue to attack Gaza Strip, displacing nearly all of the 2.3 million residents and killing over 46,000, Hamas health ministry stated. 

21 November: An agreement between the US, Qatar and Egypt makes Hamas set free 105 of the hostages in exchange for over 240 Palestinians in Israeli prisons during a one week truce. Both sides of Israel and Hamas lay the failure of the truce’s agreement on the other. 

28 December: Beginning of shuttle diplomacy on a new ceasefire and hostage release. 

2024 

31 May: US President Joe Biden shares an Israeli plan for a three-stage ceasefire in exchange for the freeing of Israelis held hostage. To this, it gives the foundation to a deal which is finally settled when eight months later. 

10 June: The United Nations Security Council also approves this plan squarely bringing into focus the aspects of ceasefire. 

31 July: The talks are put on hold after Israel kills a Hamas political leader and chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iran. They reconvene after two weeks, first during which the Hamas delegation is not present. 

17 October: Seven Palestinian gunmen killed in Gaza, Israel Defense Forces. Netanyahu describes it as the start of the ‘end,’ of the war that is. 

9 November: Following several failed months in the negotiation process, Qatar puts a hold on its attempts at being the mediator. As it notes Israel and Hamas require changing their stance.  

20 November: The US opposes a draft UN Security Council resolution urging an immediate cessation of hostilities, stating that it “abandoned” the requirement for there to be a relationship between a cease-fire and the delivery of hostages. 

27 November: It may be recalled that the Gaza war was provoked by an armed group Hezbollah of Lebanon allied to Hamas and Israel agrees to cease fire with Lebanon to put an end to a 13-month conflict. It reignites the hope that something will happen in Gaza since, as Biden said, he will try again with the regional parties. 

2 December: Asked when he will be using the presidential plane again, Trump said that there will be ‘all hell to pay’ if the hostages are not released in Gazas by the time he visits the White House for the inauguration on 20 of January 2025. 

17 December: A senior Palestinian official declared that the talks are in the ‘decisive and last round’ while Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz said that; it is now closer than ever. 

2025 

13 January: In Biden’s last week of presidency, Biden and Netanyahu discussed the negotiations over the phone after Blinken stated an agreement was practically near adding that the goal is to finalize the deal before Trump enters office. 

15 January: According to the statement of Qatar’s prime minister, Israel and Hamas signed the Gaza cease-fire and hostage release and it is determined for 19 of January. Biden claims it will “stop the hostilities in Gaza, increase urgent-humanitarian aid to Palestinians and reconnect the hostages with their loved ones”.