After one year and two months of continual ground and aerial assault on the West Bank and Gaza strip following the October 7th cross-border attack, initiated by Hamas fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigade, Israel’s security cabinet and Hamas officials have formally approved a ceasefire agreement. The agreement comes amidst global outcries as foreign aid organizations and local support groups in the occupied territories have worked to assist civilians. These discussions come on the heels of what has been described by the United Nations’ High Commissioner Volker Turk as an Israeli bombing campaign which has “…consistently violated” the requirement to select means and methods of warfare which aim to avoid and or minimize to every extent that likelihood of civilian casualties (UNHR 2024). Debate around concessions and requirements for the deal were mediated in the Qatari capital of Doha, with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani stating that the ceasefire agreement’s first phase would begin implementation on Sunday, assuming the security cabinet’s approval is upheld by the Israeli government in a meeting scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, January 17th.
The agreement, split into three phrases, which were approved by Israel’s security cabinet in the early morning of Friday, January 17th includes a temporary ceasefire, bringing relief to the Gaza Strip, which has been placed on a complete siege since October 9th of 2023. This siege has halted the supply of electricity, food, water, and fuel to the territory (CSIS 2024). The deal also outlines the release of Israeli hostages as well as Palestinian prisoners, and lastly, allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza (NBC 2025).
The first phase, expected to last six weeks, involves a “limited prisoner exchange” as well as the partial withdraw of Israeli troops from Gaza. In this beginning stage, 33 hostages are expected to be released by Hamas, including Americans Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen, as well as French citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi (Washington Post 2025). In exchange, Israel is set to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, beginning with women, children, and individuals aged over 50 years old (Washington Post 2025). Hamas is expected to release 3 hostages on the first day of the ceasefire agreement, four on the seventh day, and then weekly releases as the agreement continues its phases (AP 2025). In addition, Israeli troops are to partially withdraw from Gaza, moving out of heavily populated areas and stationing around the edges of the Gaza strip.
The first phase also includes the resumption of aid flow into the territory, which has been constricted due to the increasing scale and frequency of aerial assaults on Gaza by Israeli forces. In an interview conducted by CNN, Sam Rose, UNRWA’s acting director of affairs in Gaza, explained that around 4,000 aid trucks have been halted at the border crossing point for months. He further corroborates, “The supplies of aid have been so paltry over the past several months…any increase will be a success” (CNN 2025). Despite the enthusiasm surrounding the possibility to deliver vital aid to the enclave, Rose expressed more than just aid trucks are necessary to help deal with the severity of the impacts on the local population following 460 days of war. Rose argues fuel needs to return to Gaza, supplies for hospitals are needed to begin reopening medical services, and electricity plants must start running again to be able to supply water through pipes instead of trucks (CNN 2025). Rose also expresses the need for increased aid as the ceasefire agreement advances, which he argues can only happen if the trucks delivering these supplies are able to safely come back and forth between the border crossing point. Aid agencies expect hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals to return in the coming days following the agreement’s implementation, creating logistic and congestion concerns among safety issues for civilians and children stemming from unexploded munitions under debris.
The second stage will come with an announcement of a “sustainable calm”, meaning both military and hostile operations will halt, coinciding with the return of the remaining Israeli hostages as well as an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners still left in Israeli prisons. This second stage will also be characterized by the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. While the first phase has been formally drafted, the second and third phases of the agreement could see changes as negotiations are expected to continue while the first phase is implemented. US President Joe Biden affirmed the likelihood of continued negotiations, stating that the ceasefire will still be upheld even if discussions surrounding the second and third phases stretch beyond the initial 6-week timeline. (Al Jazeera, 2025).
The third stage, although not formally drafted, is expected to include the exchange of bodies from both sides after identification, as well as the beginning of reconstruction for the Gaza Strip. Reconstruction is expected to last 3-5 years and will include the rebuilding of homes, civilian facilities, and infrastructure (Al Jazeera 2025).
Key negotiators in the ceasefire deal included officials from Israel, Hamas Militant Group, the United States and Qatar. Both David Barnea, head of Israel’s spy agency and Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency represented Israeli interests, with Bar’s agency dealing with Palestinian-related security issues, including the release of Palestinian prisoners. Representing the United States as mediators during the Doha ceasefire discussions is Brett McGurk, top US advisor to the Middle East and Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy to the region. Witkoff’s role during the discussions were expressed as applying pressure to Israeli officials to accept the ceasefire agreement (AP 2025). Both Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatari prime and foreign minister and Hassan Rashad, Director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency, have been negotiating with Khalil al-Hayya, the acting head of Hamas Political Bureau and chief negotiator. Al-Hayya did not meet directly with American or Israeli officials, instead communicating through Egyptian and Qatari mediators (AP 2025).
While celebrations continue in Gaza and Tel-Aviv, skepticism remains in the air as tensions between the two sides have led to the dissolution of previous ceasefire agreements. Hope remains that this deal will allow for much needed relief for the Gaza Strip and the return of Israeli hostages.
As of Tuesday, February 4th, talks have begun to finalize the second part of the ceasefire agreement between the militant group Hamas and the Israeli regime. The first prisoner/ hostage exchange went smoothly, with 110 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for 3 Israeli hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington D.C this week continued to inform the developments which stem out of this ceasefire agreement, and while the ceasefire agreement stands, US interest in “acquiring Gaza” as a formal US territory threatens to destabilize the situation unfolding in the enclave. In addition to this new US position, Hamas officials accused Israeli forces of breaking multiple conditions of the ceasefire agreement during the week of February 5th, including firing at civilians and blocking aid trucks, derailing the hostage exchange scheduled for Saturday the 15th. In response, Netanyahu has warned to resume intense fighting in the region, with President Donald Trump further threatening that “all hell” will break out if the hostages are not returned as scheduled. As the ceasefire stands, Hamas official have relented on the indefinite postponing of the hostage, and the assumption stands the prisoner swap will resume this upcoming Saturday the 15th as previously agreed upon.
Works Cited
https://www.csis.org/analysis/aftermath-october-7-regional-conflict-middle-east
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/15/what-do-we-know-about-the-israel-gaza-ceasefire-deal
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/17/israel-war-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-news-hamas/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-hamas-ceasefire-gaza-rcna187913
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-hamas-ceasefire-war-palestine-01-17-25/index.html
https://education.cfr.org/learn/timeline/israeli-palestinian-conflict-timeline