{"id":216353,"date":"2025-01-16T03:42:20","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T03:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/16\/negotiators-reach-cease-fire-and-hostage-deal-for-gaza\/"},"modified":"2025-01-16T03:42:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T03:42:20","slug":"negotiators-reach-cease-fire-and-hostage-deal-for-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/16\/negotiators-reach-cease-fire-and-hostage-deal-for-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Negotiators Reach Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal for Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/14\/multimedia\/15mideast-ledeall-1\/14ceasefire-wwk-1-tflv-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Negotiators Reach Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal for Gaza\" title=\"Negotiators Reach Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal for Gaza\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Negotiators announced on Wednesday that they had reached a cease-fire deal for the war in the Gaza Strip, 15 months after a<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>devastating Hamas-led attack on Israeli soil set off a relentless military campaign with few parallels in recent history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the attack that set it all in motion, the Oct. 7, 2023, raid on southern Israel led by Hamas fighters, some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed, stunning Israelis. In the months that followed, an estimated 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, many of them also civilians, were killed and entire towns leveled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Wednesday, Gazans were allowing themselves to hope for an end to the long months of hunger, destruction and fear, while Israelis were anxiously readying themselves to welcome home dozens of men and women taken hostage by Hamas during the 2023 attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under the terms of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/15\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-ceasefire-israel-hamas.html?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">the provisional deal<\/a>, reached in the waning days of the Biden administration, the Israeli military will begin to pull back its force and Hamas will begin releasing some of the hostages seized during the bloody raid that set off the war. If approved by Israel\u2019s cabinet, the cease-fire will take effect on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAn entire country is holding its breath tonight,\u201d said Yair Lapid, the centrist opposition leader of Israel, where the cabinet was expected to vote on the agreement on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hamas, in a statement, said, \u201cIt is a historic moment in the conflict with our enemy.\u201d It praised the \u201clegendary resilience\u201d of Gazans in the face of a war that had unleashed a humanitarian crisis. One of the group\u2019s leaders also had praise for the Hamas-led attack that prompted the war, despite the bitter price paid by Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even amid cautions that some of the details of the agreement had yet be worked out, celebrations broke out on Wednesday in both Gaza and Israel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cPraise God, this tragedy is over,\u201d said one Gaza City resident, Mohammad Fares, 24, as celebratory whistling and gunfire was heard in the background.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But in a decimated Gaza that little resembles the enclave that existed before Israel unleashed a broad assault aimed at destroying Hamas once and for all, grief and anxiety, not joy, remained the dominant emotions among Palestinians.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHow can we ever rebuild?\u201d asked Suzanne Abu Daqqa, who lives in a suburb near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. \u201cWhere will we even begin?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Israel, families of the hostages issued a statement declaring their \u201coverwhelming joy and relief\u201d over the deal, but they also expressed \u201cdeep anxiety and concerns\u201d that some hostages might be left behind. Of the roughly 250 people seized in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, some 100 are still in Gaza; about a third are believed to have died in captivity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even as the tentative cease-fire was celebrated, some appeared at pains not to overstate what might be achieved. In announcing the deal, the prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, spoke of \u201csustainable calm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The agreement, however, was a major breakthrough after months of roller-coaster talks that often appeared to inch close to resolution, only to fall apart. President Biden\u2019s administration had been pressing for a truce as the clock ran out on his time in office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cToo many innocent people have died, too many communities have been destroyed,\u201d an ebullient Mr. Biden told reporters at a news conference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His successor, President-elect Donald J. Trump, had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2025\/01\/15\/world\/israel-hamas-cease-fire-deal-gaza\/trump-gaza-ceasefire?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">threatened severe consequences<\/a> unless Israel and Hamas reached an agreement before his Jan. 20 inauguration, and Mr. Biden suggested that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/15\/us\/politics\/gaza-ceasefire-trump-biden.html?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">the White House had consulted with the Trump team<\/a> about the talks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re handing off to the next team a real opportunity for a brighter future in the Middle East,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope they take it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After months of deadlock, the negotiations moved into high gear in recent days in Doha, the Qatari capital, sped up by Mr. Trump\u2019s looming inauguration. American officials from both the departing and incoming administrations drove the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/12\/world\/middleeast\/israeli-security-chiefs-gaza-cease-fire.html?searchResultPosition=2\" title=\"\">latest efforts to reach a deal<\/a>, with Qatar and Egypt acting as mediators between Hamas and Israel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The cease-fire would have several phases, the first of which would last six weeks. During that time, Mr. al-Thani said, Israeli forces in Gaza would withdraw to the east, away from populated areas, and some 33 hostages would be released. In return, Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel would be released.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The 33 hostages to be released in the first phase include women and children, men over age 50 and sick or wounded people. It was still unclear how many of that group are alive, but Israeli officials have estimated that most are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During the first phase, 600 trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian relief would enter Gaza daily. And Gazans forced from their homes would be able to return north, where the Israeli invasion began.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in southern Gaza have been living in tents, makeshift shelters, rented homes and relatives\u2019 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By Day 16, negotiations about the second phase of the deal \u2014 also lasting six weeks \u2014 would begin, focusing on further exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The cease-fire agreement must still pass the Israeli cabinet, where some of the hard-right lawmakers that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depends on to remain in power have openly opposed a deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Amid word that a cease-fire deal might be near, one far-right member of the coalition, Itamar Ben-Gvir, issued <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/itamarbengvir\/status\/1879075942015893956\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a video statement<\/a> calling on others to join forces and scupper any agreement by quitting the Netanyahu government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another far-right cabinet member, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called the agreement \u201cbad and dangerous to Israel\u2019s national security\u201d and said he absolutely opposed it. But he did not explicitly threaten to leave the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Critics of Mr. Netanyahu, including many of the hostage families, have often accused him of sabotaging past efforts to reach a deal in order to preserve his coalition, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israel\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he believed that a majority would sign off on an agreement in a cabinet vote. \u201cLeadership is about deciding between a bad decision and a very bad decision,\u201d Mr. Saar said, adding of the hostages, \u201cIf we postpone the decision, we don\u2019t know how many of them will survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, called on the government to approve the deal. \u201cThere is no greater moral, human, Jewish, or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us \u2014 whether to recover at home, or to be laid to rest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Wednesday, in the absence of a cease-fire, Gaza Civil Defense reported continued Israeli airstrikes across the enclave, including one on a residential building in northern Gaza City that it said had resulted in two fatalities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the past year, the fighting in Gaza, along with the lawlessness that spread after the invasion, have posed major hurdles to distributing aid. On Wednesday, as humanitarian groups geared up to flood into the stricken enclave, they made it clear that it would still not be easy \u2014 even with a cease-fire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is a moment of hope and opportunity,\u201d said Tom Fletcher, the United Nations undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs. \u201cBut we should be under no illusions how tough it will still be to get support to survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Reporting was contributed by <!-- -->Hiba Yazbek<!-- -->, <!-- -->Abu Bakr Bashir<!-- -->, <!-- -->Johnatan Reiss<!-- -->, <!-- -->Rawan Sheikh Ahmad<!-- -->, <!-- -->Ismaeel Naar<!-- --> and <!-- -->Ephrat Livni<!-- -->.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/15\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-cease-fire.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Negotiators announced on Wednesday that they had reached a cease-fire deal for the war in the Gaza Strip, 15 months after a devastating Hamas-led attack on Israeli soil set off a relentless military campaign with few parallels in recent history. In the attack that set it all in motion, the Oct. 7, 2023, raid on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/14\/multimedia\/15mideast-ledeall-1\/14ceasefire-wwk-1-tflv-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7275,2294,43,32652,5552,8042,3096,38,35114,103120,137131,4591],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216355,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216353\/revisions\/216355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}