Mediators tout a Gaza ceasefire deal and plan to free hostages. Israel says details still in flux

UPDATE: 12:55 p.m.

Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

The three-phase ceasefire deal promises the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and it will allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It also will flood desperately needed humanitarian aid into a territory ravaged by 15 months of war.

The prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the ceasefire would go into effect on Sunday. He made the announcement in the Qatari capital of Doha, the site of weeks of painstaking negotiations.

U.S. President Joe Biden touted the deal from Washington, saying the ceasefire will stay in place as long as Israel and Hamas remain at the negotiating table over a long-term truce. Biden credited months of “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy” for landing the deal, while noting that his administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team had been “speaking as one” in the latest negotiations.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the last details were still being ironed out and that it hoped they “will be finalized tonight.”

An Israeli official familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said those details center on confirming the list of Palestinian prisoners who are to be freed. Any agreement must be approved by Netanyahu’s Cabinet.

Once the first phase of the deal takes effect, it is expected to deliver an initial six-week halt to fighting along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether.

Over those six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, though it’s unclear if all are alive.

It remained unclear exactly when and how many displaced Palestinians would be able to return to their homes and whether the agreement would lead to a complete end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza — key Hamas demands for releasing the remaining captives.

Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which killed some 1,200 in Israel and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a fierce offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

More than 100 hostages were freed from Gaza in a weeklong truce in November 2023.

The U.S., along with Egypt and Qatar, have brokered months of indirect talks between the bitter enemies that finally culminated in this latest deal. It comes after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November, after more than a year of conflict linked to the war in the Gaza.

U.N. and international relief organizations estimate that some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. They say tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and hospitals are barely functioning. Experts have warned that famine may be underway in northern Gaza.

Abed Radwan, a Palestinian father of three, called the ceasefire deal "the best day in my life and the life of the Gaza people ... Thank God. Thank God.”

Radwan, who has been displaced from the town of Beit Lahiya for over a year and shelters in Gaza City, said he hopes to return and to rebuild his home. As he spoke to AP by phone, his voice was overshadowed by the celebrations of fellow Gazans.

“People are crying here. They don’t believe it’s true," he said.

In Israel, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, calling for a deal to be completed. Many held posters of hostages held by Hamas, others hoisted candles in the air.

As the deal was announced, some people were unaware that it had gone through. Sharone Lifschitz, whose father Oded is being held in Gaza, told the AP by phone she was stunned and grateful but won’t believe it until she sees all the hostages come home.

“I’m so desperate to see them if by some miracle my father has survived,” she said.

The Hostage Families Forum, which has long pressed Israeli leaders to make a deal that would bring the captives home, said it welcomed Wednesday's announcement with joy and relief.

“After 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones,” the group said in a statement.

Biden, who has provided crucial military aid to Israel but expressed exasperation over civilian deaths in Gaza, announced the outline of the three-phase ceasefire agreement on May 31. The agreement eventually agreed to followed that framework.

He said the first phase would last for six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, older adults and wounded people, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian assistance would surge, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza each day.

The second and most difficult phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding from devastation caused by the war.

Hamas had been demanding assurances for a permanent end to the war and complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, has repeatedly said it would not halt the war until it destroys Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.

With Biden’s days in office numbered and President-elect Donald Trump set to take over, both sides had been under heavy pressure to agree to a deal.

Trump celebrated the agreement in a posting on his Truth Social social media platform: “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”

Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said Biden deserves praise for continuing to push the talks. But Trump’s threats to Hamas and his efforts to “cajole” Netanyahu deserve credit as well.

“The ironic reality is that at a time of heightened partisanship even over foreign policy, the deal represents how much more powerful and influential U.S. foreign policy can be when it’s bipartisan,” Panikoff said.

Hezbollah’s acceptance of a ceasefire in Lebanon after it had suffered heavy blows, and the overthrow of President Bashar Assad in Syria, were both major setbacks for Iran and its allies across the region, including Hamas, which was left increasingly isolated.

Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian toll. Israel says it has killed around 17,000 militants — though it has not provided evidence to support the claim. It also blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing the group of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.

The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations brought by South Africa that Israel has committed genocide. The International Criminal Court, a separate body also based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas commander for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the war.

Israel and the United States have condemned the actions taken by both courts.

Netanyahu also faced great domestic pressure to bring home the hostages, whose plight has captured the nation’s attention. Their families have become a powerful lobbying group with wide public support backed by months of mass protests urging the government to reach a deal with Hamas.

Israeli authorities have already concluded that more than a third of the roughly 100 remaining people held captive are dead, and there are fears that others are no longer alive. A series of videos released by Hamas showing surviving hostages in distress, combined with news that a growing number of abducted Israelis have died, put added pressure on the Israeli leader.

Hamas, a militant group that does not accept Israel’s existence, has come under overwhelming pressure from Israeli military operations, including the invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and the takeover of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, have been killed.

But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities are destroyed. But it has never been clear what that would entail or if it’s even possible, given the group’s deep roots in Palestinian society, its presence in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, and its exiled leadership.

Both sides still face many difficult and unanswered questions.

As the war winds down, Netanyahu will face growing calls for postwar investigations that could find him at least partially responsible for the security failures of Oct. 7 — the worst in Israel’s history. His far-right governing partners, who opposed a ceasefire deal, could also bring down the coalition and push the country into early elections.

There is still no plan for who will govern Gaza after the war. Israel has said it will work with local Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. But it is unclear if such partners exist, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with Israeli forces.

The United States has tried to advance sweeping postwar plans for a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with Arab and international assistance. As part of those plans, the U.S. hope Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel in return for U.S. security guarantees and aid in setting up a civilian nuclear program.

But those plans depend on credible progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, something Netanyahu and much of Israel’s political class oppose. Netanyahu has said Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their future state.

In the absence of a postwar arrangement with Palestinian support, Hamas is likely to remain a significant force in Gaza and could reconstitute its military capabilities if Israeli forces fully withdraw.

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ORIGINAL: 10 a.m.

Multiple officials say Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages after more than 15 months of war.

In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, large crowds of joyful Palestinians have taken to the streets, with people cheering and honking car horns.

Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and destructive war Israel and Hamas have ever fought, a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people and abducted around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.

The Israel Hamas-war has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities there. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities.

Here's the latest:

Israeli airstrike in the West Bank kills 4 people, medics say

RAMALLAH, West Bank: The Palestinian Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike in the occupied West Bank has killed four people.

It said the strike occurred Wednesday in Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. An airstrike in Jenin on Tuesday killed six people. The Israeli military has carried out frequent raids into Jenin targeting militants, often igniting gunbattles.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority has also been carrying out a rare crackdown on militants in Jenin in recent weeks.

The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there.

Trump cheers for the hostage release and ceasefire deal

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump celebrated the soon-to-be-announced ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas in a post on his Truth Social social media platform.

“WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!” Trump wrote.

Trump's incoming Mideast envoy had joined Biden’s Mideast adviser for the talks in Doha.

Trump also claimed credit for the agreement being reached.

“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump wrote on social media. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”

Trump last week had vowed “all hell” would break loose on Hamas if a deal wasn’t reached before his inauguration next week.

Trump in his posting added that his incoming Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, would continue “to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”

His incoming national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, in his own posting on X also credited Trump calling the development, “The Trump Effect.”

Palestinians and Israelis react to ceasefire deal

In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, large crowds of joyful Palestinians have taken to the streets, with people cheering and honking car horns.

Ashraf Sahwiel, a displaced man from Gaza City, told the AP by phone that people are celebrating the announcement Wednesday evening that Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire.

“People are happy after the suffering they’ve seen for more than a year. We hope it gets implemented,” said Sahwiel, who is currently living in a tent in Deir al-Balah with five family members.

He added everyone has been closely following the negotiations the past few days, “even children who have hope and happiness about going back home.”

As the deal was announced, “hostages square” in Tel Aviv was calm, with some Israelis unaware that it had gone through.

Sharone lifschitz, whose father Oded is being held hostage told the AP by phone she was stunned and grateful but won’t believe it until she sees them come home.

“I can’t wait to see them coming back to their families I’m so desperate to see them if by some miracle my father has survived,” she said.

Now it’s up to everyone not to sabotage it, she said.

Some people whose friends are being held hostage said they won’t trust the deal until all the hostages returned.

“I don’t trust Hamas, don’t trust them at all to bring them back,” said Vered Froner. She and her mother hid in a safe room for 17 hours in Nachal Oz kibbutz during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

She said she’d prefer to have had all of the hostages return at once rather than a phased approach.

US officials confirm a ceasefire deal is reached between Israel and Hamas

A deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas that will see some hostages freed and the pause war in Gaza, three US officials confirmed to The Associated Press.

One official said that it was expected that the ceasefire would be implemented in the coming days. All three requested anonymity to discuss the contours of the deal before the official announcement by mediators in Doha.

President Joe Biden was preparing to address the breakthrough agreement later Thursday, officials said.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, mediators announced Wednesday, pausing a devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip and raising the possibility of winding down the the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

The deal, coming after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It also would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a devastated territory.

Palestinians await news of a ceasefire

Dozens of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip lined up at a charity kitchen on Wednesday as they awaited word of a ceasefire.

Aman Abu Jarad, a displaced woman from Beit Hanoun, is yearning to return home and rejoin her siblings and loved ones, despite the massive destruction across the Gaza Strip.

“Even though it has already been bombed, at least we return to our land. The moment a ceasefire takes hold, there is a psychological relief, and you return to the land you used to live on better than being in humiliation,” she said.

Nearly 2 million Palestinians in the territory have been displaced because of the war and are suffering from malnutrition, lack of food aid, destroyed healthcare infrastructure and harsh winter conditions.

“We would ululate as we go back home safely, but our homes have been bombed and everything is gone. Where do we go?” said Kifaiya Al-Attar, a displaced woman from Beit Lahiya.

A last-minute snag in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks is resolved, Hamas official says

A Hamas official says a last-minute dispute in ceasefire talks between the militant group and Israel has been resolved.

Israel announced late Wednesday that Hamas had tried to change agreed-upon understandings for security arrangements along Gaza’s border with Egypt. It strongly rejected the proposals.

The Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, confirmed the matter was resolved.

There was still no official word on whether a final agreement had been reached.

White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk had briefed Biden administration officials on the status of the negotiations early Wednesday and told them that talks were continuing but there were still issues that needed to be ironed out, according to two administration officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.

An Egyptian is detained in Syria over threats to overthrow Egypt's government

Syrian authorities have detained an Egyptian who released videos in which he vowed to overthrow the government in Cairo, a Syrian Interior Ministry official said Wednesday.

Ahmad al-Mansour has been living in Syria for years and was among the fighters led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that toppled the government of President Bashar Assad in December.

Al-Mansour was detained late Tuesday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In a video recently posted on social media, al-Mansour said that like Assad, “the turn of the dictator is coming.” He was apparently referring to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who came to power in 2013 after ousting the democratically elected government led by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Mansour’s arrest is likely to ease concerns in some Arab countries, including Egypt, that Syria could be used as a base to destabilize regional countries.

Israel says it confiscated 3,300 weapons from Syrian territory

The Israeli military said it had confiscated over 3,300 weapons in the past six weeks in and around areas in Syria where Israeli troops have operated close to the Golan Heights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops will occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future. Israel said it has seized Syrian army tanks, weapons, anti-tank missiles, rocket propelled grenades, shells, mortars and mortar shells, and observation equipment, among other weapons.

Israel’s capture of the buffer zone in December following the ouster of President Bashar Assad has sparked criticism that Israel was violating a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria. Syrians in the areas Israeli forces have moved into have protested their presence and complained about the lack of action by the country’s new authorities to pressure Israel to withdraw.

The military said the seizure of weapons and its presence in the buffer zone are necessary to ensure the security of Israel and the Golan Heights.

Israel seized control of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it — a move not recognized by most of the international community.

Norway says a ceasefire for Gaza is only the beginning of a long recovery

Norway’s foreign minister says it’s important to look ahead to the longer-term future as hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza rise.

Espen Barth Eide said at an event in Oslo Wednesday attended by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa that “that it’s really the moment to deep dive into what will then happen next.”

He cautioned that “just the ceasefire can easily create the sense of vacuum, of unfulfilled hope. And the problems in Gaza would not be over. The divisions will not be over. The hatred would not be laid to rest if it was only a ceasefire.”

Barth Eide said the international community expects “that Israel understands that it’s time to move on and to help solve the long outstanding issue of Palestine. And of course, that our friends in Palestine also work effectively together to build a strong government and a strong capacity that all the Palestinian territories are united, so that both sides have a good partner in building peace.”

Norway is one of three European countries that formally recognized a Palestinian state in May.

Palestinian prime minister says Palestinian Authority should run Gaza in future

The Palestinian prime minister says it’s unacceptable for any entity other than the Palestinian Authority to run the Gaza Strip in the future, as Israel and Hamas appear to be at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to end 15 months of war.

“While we’re waiting for the ceasefire, it’s important to stress that it will not be acceptable for any entity to govern Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the State of Palestine,” Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said Wednesday. He was visiting Norway, one of three European countries that formally recognized a Palestinian state in May.

Mustafa said “any attempt to consolidate the separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or creating transitional entities, will be rejected.”

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, confining the Western-backed Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The U.S. has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood, which the Israeli government opposes.