What We Know About the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Agreement

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza after more than 15 months of devastating war, officials said on Wednesday.
The agreement, which would include the release of hostages, was met with cautious optimism. But Israel’s cabinet still needs to ratify the deal, and the prime minister’s office said there were some last-minute disputes with Hamas. Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the group was committed to the deal.
Follow our live coverage here.
What’s in the agreement?
The cease-fire deal would begin with an initial phase lasting six weeks. It would involve the release of 33 hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow the entry into Gaza of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief daily, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The New York Times.
At the beginning of the first phase, Israel would have to move its forces east, and on the seventh day, Palestinians displaced in southern Gaza could begin to return to the northern part of the territory, according to the document.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in southern Gaza have been living in tents, makeshift shelters, rented homes and relatives’ apartments for more than a year. Many of those planning to return to the north will most likely find that their homes and neighborhoods have been destroyed, especially residents of Jabaliya, a town in the north.
The provisional deal says a minimum of 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 tents would be brought into Gaza during the initial phase.
By the 16th day of the first phase, negotiations about the second phase of the deal — also lasting six weeks — would begin, especially details related to the further exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Read more on the terms here.
Who will be freed?
If it goes into effect, the cease-fire would allow for the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. About 100 hostages are thought to still be in Gaza, although the Israeli authorities believe around 35 of them are dead.
The 33 hostages to be released in the first phase include women and children, men over 50 and sick or wounded people. It is still unclear how many of the 33 are alive, but Israeli officials have estimated that most are.
The agreement requires Hamas to release three female hostages on Day 1, four more on Day 7 and 26 more over the next five weeks. In exchange, Israel must free multiple Palestinian prisoners for each hostage, including some serving life sentences in some cases.
Read more about the hostage and prisoners here.
What’s the status of the deal?
Israel’s cabinet had been expected to vote on Thursday morning on whether to formally ratify the deal.
But at midday local time, Israel had yet to convene ministers to discuss the proposal, citing last-minute disputes with Hamas. The office of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement, without specifying which ones.
Some hard-line members of Mr. Netanyahu’s government have opposed the deal. The coalition’s two far-right parties do not command a majority in the cabinet.
Critics of Mr. Netanyahu’s government, including many of the families of hostages held in Gaza, have repeatedly accused the prime minister of sabotaging past efforts to reach a deal in order to preserve his coalition — the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israel’s history — and remain in power.
Has fighting continued?
Yes.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Thursday morning that at least eight Israeli attacks in the territory had killed 81 people and injured nearly 200 others over the previous 24 hours.
The Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency service, said that Israeli strikes had killed at least 77 people since the deal had been announced. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes. The claims could not be independently verified.
Why did talks move forward?
The talks have also gained momentum since Israel reached a separate cease-fire agreement with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which began firing rockets into Israel immediately after the Hamas-led attack of October 2023. Battered badly by its escalating conflict with Israel, Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire with Israel in November, a deal that helped isolate Hamas.
Some officials have suggested that the change in U.S. administrations, set to take place on Monday, Jan. 20, put pressure on Israel and Hamas to accelerate their decision-making after months of delay.
President-elect Donald J. Trump, has warned that there will be “all hell to pay” unless the hostages are freed by the time he takes office. Steve Witkoff, his pick for Middle East envoy, has also made trips to Qatar and Israel.