Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire, hostages to be released imminently
US President Joe Biden has refused to credit Donald Trump in sealing Hamas’ ceasefire deal with Israel, as the families of hostages reacted to their imminent release.
Israel and Hamas have reached a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.
The ceasefire was confirmed by a US official on Wednesday, in the final days of US President Joe Biden’s administration.
Implementation of the deal is likely to take effect on January 19.
The deal comes after Mr Biden had pushed strongly for an accord before Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a brief statement on the ceasefire, noting the last details should be finalised within hours.
“In light of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s firm stance, Hamas has backed down on its demand at the last minute to change the deployment of forces on the Philadelphia axis,” the statement read.
“However, there are still several unresolved clauses in the outline, and we hope that the details will be finalised tonight.”
US President Joe Biden noted that his team and the incoming Trump administration spoke as “one team” in negotiating the ceasefire deal.
“This deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented for the most part by the next administration,” Mr Biden said.
He refused to give any credit to Mr Trump,who had threatened “hell” for Hamas if it did not release the hostages by the time he took office on Monday.
Asked about the contribution of Trump’s envoys to sealing the agreement, Biden replied, “Well, you know, this is the exact framework of the deal I proposed back in May, the exact.”
“In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team. This has been a time of real turmoil in the Middle East, but as I prepare to leave office, our friends are strong, our enemies are weak, and those are genuine opportunities for a new future.”
The corridor, a strip of land along the border of Egypt and Gaza where Israel has insisted on maintaining a presence, was a key sticking point in negotiations.
Israel’s Channel 12 reports the Jewish state insisted most of the first 33 hostages released are to be those still alive.
Female civilians will be released first followed by female soldiers, men aged over 50 and men who are infirm.
As well as the hostages held since October 7, Ethiopian-born Israeli Avera Mengistu and Bedouin Israeli Hisham al-Sayad, who have been held by Hamas since 2014 and 2015 respectively, are expected to be released in the first wave.
According to Channel 12, three hostages will be released on the day the deal is implemented with more to be released with every passing week.
While Israel will release around 1000 Palestinian prisoners, none of them took part in the October 7 slaughter.
Mr Trump took jubilantly to Truth Social to praise the outcome and claimed it was only possible because of his “historic victory in November”.
Mr Trump confirmed his administration would continue to work closely with Israel to maintain peace.
The deal still needs to be approved by the security cabinet followed by the full cabinet.
It could then be subject to appeal in the Supreme Court.
See recap below.
Originally published as Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire, hostages to be released imminently