What to Know About the Israel-Hamas War Cease-Fire Deal
The deal is set to pause fighting for six weeks as well as lead to the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire deal that will pause fighting in Gaza for six weeks and lead to the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, President Joe Biden said Wednesday afternoon, though Israel has not yet confirmed that an agreement has been reached. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]
Hamas and its allied militant groups are expected to release 33 hostages seized from Israel during the attacks of October 7, 2023, Biden announced Wednesday, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Those hostages are expected to include all women, children, and older people who were captured over a year ago and are still alive.
This first phase of the deal will also include a complete cease-fire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated parts of Gaza, Biden said, as well as the scheduled release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Biden went on to state that the second phase of the deal would include the remaining hostages held in Gaza, including male soldiers and departure from Gaza of the rest of the Israeli forces.
“It is a very good afternoon,” Biden said, adding, “the road to this deal has not been easy.”
Biden acknowledged that his administration worked with Trump’s advisors to get the deal done. “Its terms will be implemented for the most part by the next administration,” Biden said. “For the past few days we have been speaking as one team.”
As news of the deal emerged Wednesday morning, President-elect Donald Trump posted about it on his social media platform Truth Social. “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!” Trump added in another post: “This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November … We have achieved so much without even being in the White House.”
Biden, in a statement released earlier Wednesday, credited the deal to multiple factors, including the “extreme pressure that Hamas has been under,” the “weakening of Iran” in the region and “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy.”
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Hamas is set to free three hostages on the first day of the cease-fire, then another four on the seventh day, according to the Associated Press. After that, it will make weekly releases. The first batch of 33 hostages are expected to include five female Israeli soldiers, each to be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 militants who are serving life sentences.
Two Americans—Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen—are among the list of hostages to be released, according to CNN and other media. Siegel and Dekel-Chen are two of the three presumed-alive American hostages of seven still held captive in Gaza.
Negotiations for the second phase of the deal, which is expected to try to attain the release of all remaining hostages and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, will begin on Day 16 of the cease-fire, according to the AP.
The news of a cease-fire deal comes amid reports by UNICEF that at least 74 children were killed in the Gaza Strip in just the first seven days of 2025.
“Children have reportedly been killed in several mass casualty events, including nighttime attacks in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Al Mawasi, a unilaterally designated ‘safe zone’ in the south,” UNICEF wrote. “The most recent attack, yesterday, saw five children reportedly killed in Al Mawasi.”
Biden stated that the third phase of the deal would include a “major reconstruction plan” for Gaza, as well as the return of any final remains of hostages killed.
Some Israeli officials, however, cautioned that details of the deal were still being worked out, according to a statement released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, though the office later Wednesday posted on X that Netanyahu called both Trump and Biden to thank them for “advancing” the release of hostages.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office issued a statement on Thursday morning claiming that “Hamas is reneging on the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that is preventing an agreement” and saying Israel’s cabinet won’t convene to approve the deal “until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.”
