The Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, officially announced on Wednesday evening, during a press conference, the achievement of an agreement for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire between Israel And Hamas.
«We are pleased to announce, together with Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the success of the joint mediation efforts. The parties involved in the conflict in the Gaza Strip have agreed to an exchange of prisoners and hostages and declared a ceasefire, with the aim of establishing a permanent truce between the two factions,” the Prime Minister said. Sheikh Al Thani gave special thanks Steve Witkoffspecial correspondent of Trump for the Middle East, for its contribution to reaching the agreement, and Brett McGurkWhite House coordinator for the Middle East, for his commitment. The ceasefire, the Prime Minister specified, will come into force on Sunday 19 January, subject to formal approval of the agreement by the Israeli government which will take place tomorrow morning around 11.00.
According to what was declared by a senior Arab official al Times of Israelsome “minor” issues related to the ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages will be finalized only after the start of its implementation. These include Israel’s verification of the approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release, many of them residents of Gaza and detained since the conflict began.
The exact number of life-sentenced Palestinian prisoners who will be released has not yet been determinedeven if the main details are now defined. Hamas has agreed to transfer prisoners with life sentences to an agreed third country, but Israel insists that other released prisoners also be transferred abroad. This issue will be resolved in the next few days. The mediators believe that these aspects are not significant enough to justify a delay in announcing the agreement or in its launch. The first day of implementation of the agreement, scheduled for Sunday, could mark the release of the first three hostages. Subsequently, four will be released on the seventh day of the agreement; on the 14th, 21st, 28th and 35th days, three each will be released. During the last week, the remaining 14 hostages will be released. The president of the United States, Joe Biden commented on the diplomatic success achieved today: «Today, after months of intense diplomacy conducted by the United States in collaboration with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire and a plan for the release of the hostages. This agreement will end the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians, and allow hostages to reunite with their families. On May 31, 2024, I outlined the details of this plan, which was subsequently approved unanimously by the United Nations Security Council. This achievement was made possible not only thanks to the pressure exerted on Hamas and changes in the regional situation, including the truce in Lebanon and the weakening of Iran, but also through constant and scrupulous American diplomacy. Our diplomatic efforts have never stopped in pursuing this goal after more than 15 months of captivity,” the president said.
Biden He added: «While we welcome this news, we cannot forget the families whose loved ones were killed during the Hamas attack on 7 October and the many innocent victims of the war that followed. It is time to end the fighting and begin the work of building peace and security. I also think of the American families, including three who still have hostages alive in Gaza and four who await the repatriation of their loved ones’ remains after such a horrific ordeal. With this agreement, we are determined to bring them all home. I will talk about it in more detail in the next few days. For now, I am deeply moved that the hostages can finally be reunited with their families.” Previously, the president-elect Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: «With this agreement in place, my national security team, through the efforts of the Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoffwill continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to ensure that Gaza never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists. We will continue to promote peace through strength across the region as we use the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the historic Abraham Accords. This is just the beginning of great things to come for America and, indeed, the world!” Finally, as we write, celebrations are underway in the Gaza Strip after news spread of an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. The same had happened on October 7, 2023 with thousands of gazawi celebrating the Hamas terrorist attacks which caused 1,200 deaths and hundreds of injuries in addition to the hostages.