The U.S. president-elect stated that his team “will continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to make sure Gaza never again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

“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 stated on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

“I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones,” he added, noting that his national security team, through the efforts of Steve Witkoff, his nominee for special Middle East envoy, “will continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to make sure Gaza never again becomes a terrorist safe haven.

“We will continue promoting peace through strength throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the historic Abraham Accords,” Trump stated. “This is only the beginning of great things to come for America, and indeed, the world.”

An Israeli source told the country’s Channel 12 News that the Palestinian terrorist group committed to the deal in writing, and Al Jazeera reported that a Hamas delegation, led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, delivered the formal approval to mediators in Doha and Cairo.

Hamas stated that it “acted with responsibility and a positive attitude” in its response to the latest proposals in Doha.

The IDF confirmed that it had started preparations for the return of the hostages, dubbing the operation “Wings of Freedom.”

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Al Thani confirmed the deal at a press conference in Doha. He said it would go into effect on Sunday and expressed hope that it would lead to a permanent truce.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement that “the mediators will remain in constant and continuous contact with the two parties to the conflict to exchange lists of prisoners and detainees, and to ensure that the exchange process is carried out in a safe and smooth manner.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said the deal would “halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.

“I laid out the precise contours of this plan on May 31, 2024, after which it was endorsed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council,” stated the outgoing president. “My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.”

Preparations are reportedly underway in Jerusalem to convene the Security Cabinet, which consists of senior ministers, and the full government to approve the agreement on Thursday at 11 a.m..

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that he is cutting his diplomatic visit to Europe short and will return to Jerusalem on Wednesday night “to participate in the expected discussions and votes in the Security Cabinet and government.”

Israeli coalition whip Miki Zohar, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party who also serves as sports minister, urged fellow ministers to vote in favor of the agreement on Wednesday night.

“There is no greater commandment than redeeming captives and there is nothing greater than saving lives,” Zohar wrote on X. “Now that Israel has secured the conditions for the security of IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens, it is a duty for each government minister to vote in favor.”

As the news of the deal unfolded, Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office announced that the head of state held a meeting with International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.

The NGO previously helped provide transportation services during the November 2023 ceasefire, during which Hamas released 105 hostages.

“The Red Cross team briefed the president on the preparations for the transfer of the hostages and the various challenges they face,” Herzog’s office stated, adding that the president “emphasized the utmost importance and sensitivity of this mission.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that mediators ironed out the deal terms on Tuesday night but awaited Hamas’s approval. The Journal reported, citing Arab sources, that Mohammed Sinwar, the de facto leader of Hamas in Gaza, gave his “in principle” approval to the terms of the deal.

Sinwar’s agreement reportedly came mere hours after Hamas publicly announced for the first time that negotiations were in their “final stages.”

The parties agreed to a six-week initial ceasefire phase that includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the release of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters on Wednesday.

The first stage will reportedly see the release of 33 hostages, including all women, children and men over 50. Talks on the second phase will begin 16 days after the implementation. This phase is reportedly expected to conclude with the release of all remaining living hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

The third and last phase is expected to address the return of the bodies and the start of reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip under the auspices of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.

Hamas is holding 98 hostages, 94 of whom were taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and four of whom were captured in 2014, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Thirty-six are deceased, including two from 2014 (IDF Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul).

In Israel, Thousands Rally for And Against Hostage Deal

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated on Tuesday night, Jan. 14 at two separate rallies in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, respectively in favor and against the emerging ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Tzvika Mor, whose son Eitan is among the captives, came to the Jerusalem rally after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held meetings with several families of hostages.

Mor argued against the creation of different tiers of hostages in the framework of the deal. The benefits Hamas will draw from the first tier will incentivize it to hold on to the following ones, he said.

“I don’t understand how my son will return after the first wave of residents returning from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip, and humanitarian aid trucks, will strengthen Hamas,” he told Israel’s Channel 12 News.

“The selection my grandparents went through saved them from the Nazis,” Mor said, referencing how Nazis would let some Jews live while sending others to their deaths. “But the selection being made now could, God forbid, determine the fate of my son.”

Mor urged Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who oppose the deal, as well as “Likud ministers and Likud Knesset members to do everything to stop a deal that will result in us having 70 more Ron Arads,” referring to the Israeli Air Force navigator who fell captive in 1986 and has not been recovered since.

Smortich has criticized and opposed the deal publicly. Ben-Gvir went further, implying he would leave the government and calling on Smotrich to do the same, which would topple the government altogether.

Mor is a leader of the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages, which comprises families that object to making concessions to Hamas that they argue would endanger other Israelis or encourage Hamas to carry out future abductions.

In Tel Aviv, thousands attended a rally co-organized by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, a different group that has not stipulated such terms for a deal to retrieve the hostages. The Hostage and Missing Families Forum seeks an immediate deal as a matter of a moral duty, they say.

Eli Bibas, the father of hostage Yarden Bibas, spoke at the Tel Aviv rally, noting the passage of time since Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, abducted to Gaza his son, his daughter-in-law Shiri, and their sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were 4 years old and nine months old, respectively, when they were taken.

“I try to imagine him running to me and calling, ‘Grandpa Eli, a gift,’ Eli said of Kfir, who will celebrate his second birthday in captivity this weekend. “Mr. Prime Minister, the past year symbolizes for us as a people a year of disunity, destruction. The nightmare that has become the reality of our lives in the past year must end.”

His family, whose redheaded children have become an icon of the campaign to free all hostages, is on the list of 33 hostages Israel has requested as part of the first phase, according to the Asharq Saudi news outlet. Since their abduction, there has been no indication as to whether they are alive or dead.

Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, whom Netanyahu fired in November citing trust issues, attended the Tel Aviv rally and endorsed its message.

“This deal is the right deal, it’s important to do it. I support the Israeli government in making this deal,” said Gallant. “I hope that national considerations will overcome political interests. The release of the hostages is a declared war goal. I am ashamed of what Smotrich and Ben Gvir are doing. It is not Zionist, not Jewish and not humane.”