Cairo/Tel Aviv, 15 January 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, mediator Qatar announced on Wednesday evening.

The ceasefire is set to begin on Sunday and last for 42 days initially, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced following talks in Doha.

This is the first agreement of this kind since a pause in fighting more than a year ago after more than 15 months of intense fighting. This development also brings hope of an alleviation of the hardship for the civilian population of the extensively devastated coastal strip.

"We call for calm until implementation," said Al Thani.

Efforts from the United States, Egypt and Qatar have been ongoing for months to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire and Hamas to release its hostages through indirect negotiations. However, the talks had stalled for months.

Biden : Deal reached after "dogged and painstaking" diplomacy

According to observers, the temporary end of the fighting in the extensively devastated coastal area was also made possible by the setbacks for Iran's proxies in its "Axis of Resistance" in Lebanon and Syria and threats from the US President-elect Donald Trump, who had vehemently demanded an agreement for the release of the hostages.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden, however, stressed that the agreement was a result of "dogged and painstaking American diplomacy."

He said that his diplomatic efforts had not waned at any point. Biden shared that the deal was based on a plan he had already presented in May.

Initially, 33 hostages set to be freed

During the initial period of the ceasefire, 33 of the hostages held by Hamas are to be released. In return, as in a previous ceasefire, Palestinian prisoners are to be freed from Israeli prisons. Al Thani did not initially specify a number in this regard.

According to Israeli sources, a total of 98 abducted individuals are still being held in the Gaza Strip, with at least 34 presumed dead.

Parallel to the exchange of hostages for prisoners, the Israeli army is to begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip.

Three-phase plan - still many hurdles

According to Al Thani, three phases are planned, of which the current agreement only covers the first phase. Details of the following phases are to be announced once the ceasefire is in effect.

In phase two, about which negotiations are reportedly due to begin on the 16th day after the ceasefire comes into effect, discussions will likely focus on the release of the remaining live hostages and the further withdrawal of the Israeli army.

Hundreds of lorries to deliver aid supplies

At the important Rafah border crossing to the Gaza Strip, Egypt had already prepared for a possible opening and new aid deliveries.

Israel's army had occupied the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side in May last year. Shortly thereafter, aid deliveries from Egypt via Rafah ceased.

Withdrawal of the Israeli army

According to media reports, Israel's army is to gradually withdraw from inhabited areas of the Gaza Strip but initially not from the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt. Israel fears that Hamas could again smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip there.

Residents who have fled to the south of the coastal strip should be allowed to move freely in the Gaza Strip again and return to their residential areas in the north under international supervision.

Complete withdrawal only after return of all hostages

Israeli government officials have emphasized that the army will not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages are home. Even after the start of the ceasefire, soldiers are to remain in a buffer zone at the edge of the Gaza Strip and other areas.

Trump speaks of "epic" Gaza agreement

Trump reacted with relief to reports of an agreement even before it was officially announced.

"This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November," he posted on his online platform Truth Social.

"We have achieved so much without even being in the White House," the president-elect, who is due to take office on January 20, added.

Israeli Cabinet still needs to approve deal

The agreement still requires approval from the Israeli Security Cabinet and the Israeli government.

According to Israeli media, it is scheduled to meet at 11 am (0900 GMT) on Thursday to approve the deal. Immediately afterwards, the government is also set to convene.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar cut short his European tour to participate in the voting, his office said.

Extreme right-wing coalition partners of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to leave the government in the event of a ceasefire.

Massacre by Hamas triggered war

The cause of the longest martial conflict in the history of Israel was the massacre by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7, 2023, in Israel, with 1,200 dead and more than 250 abducted.

Israel responded with attacks against Hamas in Gaza, which, according to Palestinian sources, resulted in more than 46,700 deaths and over 110,200 injured. The casualty figures, which do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, cannot be independently verified, but they have been deemed credible by the United Nations.

During a one-week ceasefire in November 2023, Hamas released 105 hostages. In exchange, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons.

Reports of dozens dead as Israel attacks Gaza despite ceasefire hopes

A Palestinian report on Wednesday morning said at least 36 people had been killed as the Israeli military continued to attack the Gaza Strip even as hopes peaked for a ceasefire deal.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported dozens of deaths and numerous injuries in new Israeli operations across various parts of the largely destroyed coastal strip.

The Israeli military said in a statement that within 24 hours it had "struck more than 50 terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip, including terrorist cells, weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure, anti-tank fire positions, and Hamas military structures."

The Israeli military states it is doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties.

MIA file photo