Ceasefire in Gaza: How was the agreement between Israel and Hamas reached?

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, the United States and Qatari mediators said.

If the Israeli cabinet and government formally approve the agreement, which is not yet the case, the first six-week phase will come into effect on January 19.

The agreement follows 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian armed group and political movement.

The current conflict began when hundreds of Hamas fighters stormed Israel’s southern border on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and returning more than 250 hostages to Gaza.

Israel responded with a military campaign, beginning with an immediate aerial bombardment and then a full-scale ground invasion launched on October 27. Since then, Israel has attacked targets throughout the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air, while Hamas has attacked Israel with rockets.

More than 46,700 people, the majority of them civilians, have been killed by Israeli attacks, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

Here is a reminder of the key events of the negotiations.

October 7: Hundreds of Hamas-led gunmen launch an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, breaching the border fence and targeting neighboring communities, police stations and army bases. Around 1,200 people are killed and 251 hostages are returned to Gaza. Hamas also fires thousands of rockets into Israel. The Israeli army immediately responded with airstrikes and artillery fire on Gaza.

October 27: Israel launches ground invasion of Gaza. Israel’s massive military campaign will continue to devastate Gaza, displacing most of the 2.3 million residents and killing more than 46,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

November 21: A deal brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt sees Hamas release 105 hostages in exchange for some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during a week-long ceasefire . Israel and Hamas accuse each other of being behind the collapse of the truce.

December 28: Start of the diplomatic shuttle with a view to a new ceasefire and a new agreement on the release of the hostages.

May 31: US President Joe Biden presents Israeli proposal for a three-phase ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. This proposal forms the basis of the agreement which will be concluded eight months later.

June 10: The United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution supporting the ceasefire plan.

July 31: The talks are suspended following Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader and chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Discussions resumed two weeks later, initially in the absence of Hamas.

October 17: Israeli forces kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the southern Gaza Strip. Netanyahu calls this event the “beginning of the end” of the war.

November 9: After months of no progress, Qatar is suspending its efforts to mediate the negotiations. He says Israel and Hamas must review their positions. Both sides blame each other for the impasse.

November 20: The United States vetoes a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying it “abandons” the need for a “link between a ceasefire fire and the release of the hostages.

November 27: Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Lebanon to end a 13-month conflict with the armed group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, sparked by the Gaza war. The agreement revives hopes for a deal in Gaza, with Mr Biden saying he will put renewed pressure on regional powers.

December 2: US President-elect Donald Trump says there will be “hell to pay” if hostages still held in Gaza are not released before he returns to the White House on January 20, 2025.

December 17: A senior Palestinian official says indirect negotiations have entered a “decisive and final phase”, while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says a deal is closer than ever.

January 13: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says a deal is “very close” and that he hopes to “get it done” before Mr Trump takes office.

January 15: The Prime Minister of Qatar says that Israel and Hamas have agreed on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, and that this agreement will come into force on January 19. According to Joe Biden, this agreement “will end the fighting in Gaza, provide essential humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and allow hostages to be reunited with their families.”