After more than 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza, Qatari and American mediators have confirmed that a ceasefire deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas.
The deal is expected to come into effect on Sunday, January 19, 2025, with some details and implementation steps being finalized.
The Israeli government is expected to meet today, Thursday, to vote on the agreement. However, some reports have indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the cabinet vote until further notice, with other reports stating that Israeli cabinet members Smotrich and Ben Gvir are acting as an obstacle for the agreement.
Main Components of the Agreement
The deal includes a cessation of hostilities and the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza and many Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, and allows for displaced Palestinians to return to their houses.
It’s important to note that a large portion of houses in Gaza were destroyed, with the Government Media Office revealing that Israeli forces have fully destroyed 161,600 housing units.
A deal in three phases
The first phase lasts six weeks (42 days), and involves the following:
- Thirty-three Israeli captives, including women, children, and people over the age of 50 will be released.
- Israel will release a large number of Palestinian prisoners during this phase.
- Israel will withdraw its forces from the center of the Gaza strip to areas no more than 700 meters within the strip’s borders.
- Israel will allow the safe passage of civilians back to the north of Gaza.
- A surge of aid trucks will enter the strip, with up to 600 trucks per day.
- Wounded Palestinians will be able to leave the strip for treatment.
- The Rafah crossing with Egypt will reopen 7 days into phase one.
- Israeli forces will reduce their presence in the Philadelphia corridor, which is on the border area between Gaza and Egypt. They are to withdraw completely no later than the 50th day after the deal comes into effect.
The second and third phases have reportedly been agreed to in principle, but should be negotiated during the first phase. US president Joe Biden has confirmed that the ceasefire will continue even if the negotiations for the second and third phases take beyond the first phase’s designated period of six weeks.
During the second phase, Hamas is expected to release all remaining captives while Israeli authorities free more Palestinians held in prisons. Israeli forces are also expected to initiate their complete withdrawal from Gaza.
The third phase remains the least established in terms of clarity. Reports indicate that it should involve the handing over of the bodies of remaining captives and the initiation of a three- to five-year reconstruction plan under international supervision.
What remains unclear throughout the agreement and the different deliberations is who will administer Gaza after the ceasefire.
So far, reports have indicated that Arab countries would provide forces to ensure security in the short term, while others have hinted at the formation of an interim governing body, or at a role to be played by the Palestinian Authority in inviting “international partners” to stand up an interim governing authority to run critical services and oversee the territory.
Killing and Destruction Continue
In the few hours since the ceasefire agreement was announced, Israeli forces have killed at least 82 people in Gaza according to what medical sources informed Al Jazeera.
Right before the temporary ceasefire in Gaza last year, and more recently before the conditional ceasefire agreement in Lebanon almost two months ago, Israeli forces have ramped up attacks in hysterical fashion in what is a bloody and destructive trend of inflicting as much harm and destruction before it is no longer possible.
Human Rights Organization Al-Haq released a statement on the ceasefire agreement. The organization said that the agreement offers urgent relief to over two million Palestinians, but that the fight is not over.
The statement highlights that Israel’s genocide in Gaza has pushed the population into famine, destroyed 92 percent of housing and left 82 percent of the population in need of shelter with the onset of the winter season, as well as leaving one million at risk of sanitation threats.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicated that all of Gaza’s children (around one million) require urgent mental health and psychosocial support after 15 months of trauma.
Al-Haq stressed that a ceasefire without accountability is insufficient, and that Israel must not benefit from any aid surge or reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
The statement adds that forensic, rescue and journalist teams must be granted unrestricted access to investigate mass graves and atrocity crimes committed by Israel, which are also relevant to the genocide case raised by South Africa at the International Court of Justice against Israel.
So far, more than 46,000 deaths have been recorded. With the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, the lack of access to documentation and deliberate Israeli hiding, the actual toll is expected to be much higher. The Lancet estimates indicate that the true toll is 40 percent higher than the official figure.
At least 109,274 Palestinians have been injured, which was exacerbated by Israeli forces blocking humanitarian aid endeavors, denying vital medical aid and destroying Gaza’s healthcare system.