Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire deal that can pause combating in Gaza for six weeks and result in the discharge of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, President Joe Biden confirmed Wednesday afternoon.
Hamas and its allied militant teams are anticipated to launch 33 hostages seized from Israel through the assaults of October 7, 2023, Biden introduced Wednesday, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. These hostages are anticipated to incorporate all ladies, kids and older individuals who had been captured over a yr in the past and are nonetheless alive.
This primary section of the deal will even embody a whole ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated elements of Gaza, Biden mentioned, in addition to the scheduled launch of a whole lot of Palestinian prisoners.
Biden went on to state that the second section of the deal would come with the remaining hostages held in Gaza, together with male troopers and departure from Gaza of the remainder of the Israeli forces.
“It’s a excellent afternoon,” Biden mentioned, including, “The street to this deal has not been straightforward.”
Biden acknowledged that his administration labored with Trump’s advisors to get the deal carried out. “Its phrases will likely be carried out for probably the most half by the following administration,” Biden mentioned. “For the previous few days we have now been talking as one crew.”
As information of the deal emerged Wednesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump posted about it on his social media platform Fact Social. “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”
Hamas is about to free three hostages on the primary day of the ceasefire, then one other 4 on the seventh day, in keeping with the Related Press. After that, it’ll make weekly releases. The primary batch of 33 hostages are anticipated to incorporate 5 feminine Israeli troopers, every to be launched in alternate for 50 Palestinian prisoners, together with 30 militants who’re serving life sentences.
Biden, in a press release launched earlier Wednesday, credited the deal to a number of components, together with the “excessive strain that Hamas has been underneath,” the “weakening of Iran” within the area and “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy.”
The information comes amid reports by UNICEF that not less than 74 kids had been killed within the Gaza Strip in simply the primary seven days of 2025.
“Kids have reportedly been killed in a number of mass casualty occasions, together with nighttime assaults in Gaza Metropolis, Khan Younis, and Al Mawasi, a unilaterally designated ‘protected zone’ within the south,” UNICEF wrote. “The newest assault, yesterday, noticed 5 kids reportedly killed in Al Mawasi.”
Biden said that the third section of the deal would come with a “main reconstruction plan” for Gaza, in addition to the return of any closing stays of hostages killed.
Some Israeli officers have cautioned that particulars of the deal are nonetheless being labored out, in keeping with a press release launched by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace.
