Israel, Hamas reach ceasefire deal

WASHINGTON — Israel and Hamas have reached a multiphase ceasefire that will lead to the release of some hostages held by the militant group for more than a year.

President Joe Biden, in announcing the deal Wednesday with only days left in his presidency, urged his successor to implement the complex deal that paves a path to the reconstruction of war-battered Gaza.

“At long last, I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said in remarks at the White House.

He added: “Fighting in Gaza will stop, and soon the hostages return home to their families.”

A senior Biden administration official told reporters that two of the living American hostages — Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen will be among the first hostages released. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, as customary in such briefings.

The deal takes effect Sunday – Biden's final full day in office.

Gazan authorities say more than 46,000 civilians – most of them children and women – have been killed in Israeli military operations in the blockaded exclave. Hamas, which the U.S., Britain and other Western countries have designated as a terrorist group, sparked the violence when its fighters crossed into Israel in a stunning October 7, 2023, terror attack in which more than 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were abducted. Of those hostages, just under 100 are thought to remain in Hamas' custody.

Trump reaction

President-elect Donald Trump said on his social media network that he was “thrilled” and that his administration would build upon the success of this deal to expand the U.S.-mediated Abraham Accords to normalize Arab-Israeli relations.

Analysts say Trump’s fiery threats last week – of “all hell” breaking loose unless there was a deal before his inauguration – may have played a role.

“President-elect Trump has been very, very clear. He said he would unleash hell on Hamas if the hostages weren't released,” said Mirette Mabrouk, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. “I mean, really, there isn't very much more hell that you could unleash on the current inhabitants of Gaza. They're already in hell, but there's also the feeling that he must have placed some pressure on [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu as well. And this is why we are now moving forward.”

On Wednesday, when asked by a reporter who deserved more credit for the deal – him or Trump – Biden responded: “Is that a joke?”

Families, Israeli government react

In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which includes the families of 98 hostages, said they welcomed “with overwhelming joy and relief the agreement to bring our loved ones home.”

“However, deep anxiety and concerns accompany us regarding the possibility that the agreement might not be fully implemented, leaving hostages behind,” the statement continued. “We urgently call for swift arrangements to ensure all phases of the deal are carried out.”

Israel’s cabinet still must ratify the deal. President Isaac Herzog offered his strong support.

“As the president of the State of Israel, I say in the clearest terms: This is the right move,” he said. “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.”

But one of the main opponents of the deal in the government, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, called it “a bad and dangerous deal for the national security of the State of Israel.”

What about the day after?

Now that the day is here, some analysts looking to the proverbial “day after” doubt the next administration can reach the big goal: a two-state solution, of which the U.S. has long been a vocal supporter.

“I don't see it under the Trump administration, and that's not squarely a criticism of the Trump administration or anyone else,” said Jonathan Ruhe, director of foreign policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “I think both the Israelis and Palestinians are so far off on making the sort of the hard agreements necessary to achieve a two-state solution – I don't think there's the political will on either the Israeli or Palestinian side.”

But as Biden and Qatar’s prime minister laid out in explaining the newly inked agreements, the deal is complex enough.

Phased deal

The agreement has three progressively negotiated stages. First come the release of an initial 33 hostages over a 42-day ceasefire, the release of Palestinian prisoners, a phased Israeli withdrawal and an increased flow of aid into Gaza. The first phase will kick-start negotiations on the second phase, which will include a permanent end to the conflict, a full Israeli withdrawal and the release of all remaining hostages. The third phase will cover the proverbial “day after” — Gaza’s rebuilding, with a new governing and security structure.

Biden also emphasized how arduous the negotiations to end the 15-month war have been, and he used that point to underscore his administration's strong support for Israel, which has provoked tension between the U.S. and its closest allies.

“This is one of the toughest negotiations I've ever experienced,” the president said. “And it reached this point because of the pressure that Israel built on Hamas, backed by the United States.”

Israel’s power was indeed visible even as negotiators signed the final terms the night before, when the Israel Defense Forces said it struck Hamas targets in Gaza City, Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would not compromise on security and would intervene if it saw a threat from Gaza in the future.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.