Israel and Hamas agree on ceasefire and hostage-taking within the Gaza Strip

Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on Wednesday for a ceasefire and the discharge of hostages to finish the 15-month war within the Gaza Strip that has wreaked havoc across the region and inflamed tensions.

News of the agreement sparked joyous demonstrations within the streets late Wednesday local time in each Israel and the Gaza enclave, setting the stage for ending a conflict that has killed around 1,200 people within the Jewish state and greater than 46,000 people within the were killed within the blockaded Gaza territory, in response to Israeli and Palestinian health authorities.

Speaking on the White House, President Joe Biden said the agreement could be implemented in three phases that might begin as early as Sunday, January 19.

Israel's security cabinet still must vote on the deal before it’s implemented, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog calling on the federal government to “accept and approve” it in an address to the nation from his office.

If the deal is approved, the primary phase will include a full ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of the Gaza enclave, Biden said.

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani – whose country played a key mediating role in recent negotiations and in brokering a brief pause in fighting in November 2023 – said the primary phase would last 42 days and see Hamas release 33 Israelis Prisoners captured through the October 7, 2023 attacks in exchange for “a number of prisoners” currently incarcerated in Israel.

In this primary phase, an increased flow of aid and humanitarian assistance can be sent to all parts of the Gaza Strip, while hospitals and health centers can be renovated and essential fuel supplies will enter the enclave, al Thani said at a press conference in Doha on Wednesday.

Humanitarian organizations have already warned of the danger of famine and epidemics within the Gaza Strip attributable to the shortage or destruction of food, water and sanitation supplies.

Additionally, phase one will allow Palestinians to return to their homes within the Gaza Strip, a lot of which have been destroyed within the last yr and a half of fighting. According to Biden, the return of civilians can be accompanied by a rise in humanitarian aid to the enclave.

Details of the second and third phases of the agreement could be finalized through the implementation of the primary phase, Al Thani said, with the US noting that the temporary ceasefire would remain in effect should negotiations last more than six weeks.

Biden said all remaining living hostages could be released on this second phase. Likewise, Israeli soldiers will withdraw from the remaining areas of the Gaza Strip during this era and “the ceasefire will become permanent.”

The final phase of the agreement will include the implementation of a reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the proposed agreement was based on a framework presented by the Biden administration in May.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri called the agreement “a big win,” Reuters reported.

CNBC has reached out to the Israeli prime minister's office for comment.

The Israel Defense Forces published a message related to the deal

International leaders and key figures welcomed the ceasefire agreement, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi – one other key mediator within the ceasefire talks – emphasizing this in a Google-translated comment Social media post “The importance of accelerating the access of urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza in order to address the current catastrophic humanitarian situation without obstacles.”

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres praised the deal and called on “everyone to facilitate rapid, unhindered and safe humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need,” and pledged to “do everything humanly possible, recognizing the serious challenges we will face.”

“After 15 months of an unjustified ordeal, immense relief for the people of Gaza, hope for the hostages and their families,” said French President Emmanuel Macron saidin response to a CNBC translation. “A political solution must take place.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the “long overdue message” and said his country and its allies “will continue to lead this critical effort to break the cycle of violence and secure long-term peace in the Middle East.”

The breakthrough got here just days before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 – a date seen by many because the de facto deadline for mediation after Trump vowed there could be “hell to pay.” if Hamas didn’t release Israeli hostages when he took office.

Both Biden and Trump envoys were present at the most recent rounds of negotiations.

With just days left in his term, Biden acknowledged that the exertions of implementing this agreement will largely fall to the brand new Trump administration.

“In the last few days we have spoken as a team,” the president said of his team and Trump’s. “As I prepare to leave office, our friends are strong, our enemies are weak and there is a real opportunity for a new future.”

In recent months, each Hamas and Israeli officials have largely agreed to achieve a ceasefire in return for the discharge of Israeli hostages held by the Gaza Strip-based militant group.

However, the continued sticking point remained Hamas's demand that a full release of the hostages must end in an entire withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and an end to the war, while Israeli leaders believed that the Gaza campaign must proceed until Hamas is destroyed.