Following months of negotiations mediated by U.S. politicians from President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump’s administrations, Hamas and Israel have reached a ceasefire deal that will be rolled out in phases over a period of six weeks starting Sunday. Israeli forces are to gradually withdraw from the Gaza strip and hostages taken by Hamas will be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
The deal will also direct 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza every day of the ceasefire, and in subsequent phases, see the release of all detained Palestinian women and children under age 19, as well as the return of all human remains and the beginning of Gaza’s reconstruction. However, even after both sides agreed to a truce, Israel continued to airstrike Gaza Wednesday night, adding 32 people to the more than 46,000 lives lost in the conflict to date.
Palestinians took to the streets in celebration, while families and friends of Israeli hostages did the same. If the ceasefire is successful, it should help to mitigate tensions throughout the Middle East, assuaging fears that escalating regional conflicts would provoke war between Israel and Iran.
As the agreement was reached shortly after the White House sent U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to Doha, Qatar, where he participated in the last 96 hours of negotiations, Trump was quick to claim credit. In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, he said the deal was only possible due to his victory in the November election.
On the other hand, U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized when announcing the ceasefire deal that it was reached under the framework he first put forward in May 2024. Biden’s envoy, Brett McGurk, has been working in Doha since January 5.
White House national security communications adviser John Kirby pointed out that which party deserves the credit is less relevant than ensuring the deal is successfully implemented; this responsibility will fall to the Trump administration.