Gaza ceasefire and hostage release updates
Reports on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, with negotiations continuing and final approval pending from key parties.

16.01.2025
Qatari PM announces hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to begin Sunday
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announces a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking at a press conference in Doha, Al Thani says the deal will take effect on Sunday.
He specifies that with the final elements being dealt with this evening, the Israeli government will then take its necessary measures ahead of implementation.
He notes that in the 42-day first phase, Israel will withdraw its forces away from population centers to the border areas.
He says there will be an increased flow of aid into all parts of Gaza, the rehabilitation of hospitals and health centers, and the return of displaced Gazans.
He says 33 Israeli hostages will be released in return for an unspecified number of prisoners.
The details of phases two and three of the deal will be finalized subsequently, he says.
Al Thani also calls for calm in Gaza until the deal takes effect on Sunday.
An Israeli official confirms to The Times of Israel that a ceasefire and hostage deal has been reached.
Israeli official confirms ceasefire-hostage deal reached
Netanyahu’s office denies report Hamas has given green light to hostage deal
The Prime Minister’s Office tells reporters that “contrary to reports,” Hamas has not yet provided negotiators with its final response to the ceasefire-hostage release deal outline.
Qatari, US and Egyptian negotiators have been working for weeks to secure a deal, with Israeli and Arab officials offering cautious optimism over the past 48 hours that a deal is close to being inked.
Israeli officials expect deal to be signed tonight or tomorrow; Hamas’s Mohammed Sinwar said to give OK
Officials in Jerusalem tell Israeli media that the deal is expected to be signed tonight or tomorrow, and that a joint declaration is anticipated soon afterwards.
This means that if the deal is approved by the security cabinet and then the full cabinet this evening or tomorrow, with a 24-48 hour period to allow for appeals against the deal to the Supreme Court, implementation could begin with the first hostages going free on Sunday.
“There is a breakthrough in the hostage deal negotiations in Doha. Hamas military leader in Gaza Mohammed Sinwar gave his OK,” Walla news cites an Israeli official as saying.
Mohammed Sinwar is the bother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and believed to be commanding Hamas in Gaza.
Senior Israeli officials say positive progress in hostage talks, deal expected by tomorrow
A senior Israeli official tells the Walla news site that there is progress in the negotiations in Doha for a hostage ceasefire deal.
The site quotes a second official as saying that Israel was optimistic there would be a deal by tomorrow at the latest.
15.01.2025
Palestinian Islamic Jihad official says terror group joined Gaza hostage-ceasefire talks in Qatar
An Islamic Jihad official tells AFP that a delegation from the Palestinian terror group had arrived in Qatar to participate in talks on a Gaza truce and prisoner exchange with Israel.
“A high-ranking delegation from Islamic Jihad arrived in Doha on Tuesday evening,” says the official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to publicly discuss the talks, adding that “discussions are ongoing, focusing on the mechanism for implementing the ceasefire agreement and the names of Palestinian prisoners included in the exchange deal.”
Israel and Hamas finalizing details on implementation of hostage deal, Arab officials tell ToI
Israel and Hamas agreed in principle to a hostage deal on Monday night and have since been working in Doha to finalize the details regarding implementation of the agreement, two Arab officials tell The Times of Israel.
One of the main issues that has yet to be finalized is the exact parameters of the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza, and the mediators are still waiting for a map from Israel laying this out, the Arab officials say.
The two officials speculate that a deal will be announced on Wednesday or Thursday in the form of a joint statement from the US, Qatar and Egypt, who have been mediating between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Israel had accepted the hostage deal, while Hamas had yet to do the same.
On Monday, two officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that US President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff held a “tense” meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Saturday during which he leaned on the premier to make the compromises necessary to secure an agreement.
One of the Arab officials speaking to The Times of Israel on Tuesday says Witkoff managed to move Netanyahu more in that one meeting than the Biden administration had in countless conversations over the past year.
Netanyahu huddles with hostage negotiation team, security chiefs in efforts to finalize deal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently holding consultations with Israel’s hostage negotiation team and with members of Israel’s security establishment.
His office has sent an update to the hostages’ families, saying that talks in Doha are ongoing and that the sides are discussing final details required for an agreement.
Negotiations will continue through the night, Netanyahu’s office says, adding that they will update the hostage families as soon as they can.
Biden tells Sissi deal wouldn’t be possible without Egypt; leaders agree to stay in touch ‘in coming hours’
During their phone call earlier, US President Joe Biden told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that “this deal would never have been possible without Egypt’s essential and historic role in the Middle East and commitment to diplomacy for resolving conflicts,” according to a White House readout.
The statement appears aimed at calming tensions, in light of reports of Egyptian frustration at being sidelined in the hostage talks taking place in Qatar.
“Both leaders committed to remain in close coordination directly and through their teams over the coming hours,” the readout adds.
Hamas says it has briefed other Palestinian factions on ‘progress’ in ceasefire talks
The Hamas terror group says in a statement that it hopes for a “clear and comprehensive agreement,” in the ongoing talks for a ceasefire-hostage deal in Doha.
Hamas says that it had held consultations with other Palestinian factions and informed them of the “progress made.”
Some of the hostages are being held by other groups in Gaza, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
14.05.2025
Hostages’ families to meet Netanyahu at 2:30 as deal approaches
Representatives from the Hostage Families Forum will meet with the Prime Minister today at 2:30 p.m., the forum announces, amid indications Israel is on the brink of agreeing on a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas.
The forum says that other family members will gather outside the meeting, calling for “an agreement that guarantees the return of every last hostage, with a predetermined method and timeline.”
Qatar says Gaza talks in ‘final stages’ with major issues resolved, deal possible ‘very soon’
Negotiations in Doha for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal were in their “final stages,” mediator Qatar’s foreign ministry says.
“We do believe that we are at the final stages… certainly we are hopeful that this would lead very soon to an agreement,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari tells a news conference, adding that “until there is an announcement… we shouldn’t be over-excited about what’s happening right now.”
He says that most obstacles had been overcome.
Israel to free 50 Palestinian prisoners for each female soldier hostage
According to a draft of the deal being negotiated between Israel and Hamas, Israel will pay a steep price to secure the release of female soldiers being held hostage, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press.
The three-phase agreement would begin with the gradual release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults and wounded civilians, in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.
Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each of whom would be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 convicted security prisoners who are serving life sentences.
Hamas agrees to draft Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal
Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks say. An Israeli official says progress has been made, but the details are being finalized.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirm its authenticity. The plan would need to be submitted to Israel’s cabinet for final approval.
All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
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