Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to pause the war in Gaza and release hostages, Qatari and Hamas officials┬аsaid Wednesday, according to reports from Reuters and The Associated Press.
It comes more than 15 months into a deadly campaign that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.
This is a breaking news update. A previous version of this story follows below.
Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, after a midnight “breakthrough” in talks attended by envoys of both┬аoutgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump.
Mediators had met repeatedly in recent months but intensified their work in hopes of finalizing an agreement┬аbefore Biden leaves the White House on Monday.
In the past, hostages were said to be one┬аkey sticking point in the negotiations.┬аIsrael┬аinsisted┬аon retaining a military presence in Gaza, but┬аHamas┬аrefused┬аto release captives until the troops pulled out.
Canada has long called for a┬аceasefire, the return of hostages and an urgent flow of humanitarian aid. The country joined┬аAustralia and New Zealand in July to demand a ceasefire, saying the countries were still “unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas” but that civilians in Gaza “cannot be made to pay the price.”
Several officials say they are on the cusp of reaching a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The agreement is said to include the return of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and potentially see Israel pull back its forces in Gaza.
Last year, Canada also┬аvoted┬аin favour of a non-binding United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian pause┬атАФ representing a shift away from its long-standing practice┬аof voting with Israel on major resolutions at the UN.
Inauguration day in the U.S. was widely seen as an unofficial deadline to reach a deal. Trump had warned “all hell” would break out┬аif hostages were not freed by the time his┬аsecond term began.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said negotiators wanted to make sure Trump would continue to back the deal on the table, so it was “critical” to have┬аTrump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff attend talks, along with Biden’s envoy Brett McGurk.
Israel┬аlaunched its air and ground assault on Gaza after┬аfighters led by Hamas┬аstormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7,┬а2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than┬а250 hostages back to Gaza, according to┬аIsraeli tallies.
Israel has said roughly┬а100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, but it is unclear how many are alive.
The Health Ministry in Gaza has said Israel’s attacks have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, making it the deadliest war in decades of conflict between the two. Israel’s campaign has also┬аpushed most of Gaza’s┬а2.3 million people from their homes and left most of the coastal enclave,┬аincluding its health-care infrastructure,┬аin┬аruins.┬а
For those left in the strip, Israel’s┬аtightened blockade has cut off┬аaccess to basic necessities like food and medicine. The┬аIntegrated Food Security Phase Classification,┬аor IPC┬атАФ┬аan initiative controlled by United Nations bodies and major relief agencies┬атАФ┬аsaid in November “there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent” in parts of the northern strip.
Israel has rejected claims of famine. It called the┬аIPC┬аa “true master class in misinformation, bias and dishonest reporting,” according to a statement from the United Nations.
There have been various temporary pauses in┬аfighting so military aid could be delivered, and in┬аNovember 2023, there was a days-long┬аtruce┬аas some hostages in Gaza and detainees in Israel jails were released.
The 15-month war has also led to violence in┬аLebanon.
Israel invaded part of┬аthe country this fall┬аto try and┬аweaken Hezbollah тАФ a militant group which had launched near-daily aerial attacks against Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, on account of its┬аallyship with┬аHamas.
More than 3,960 people had been┬аkilled┬аin Lebanon as of late November,┬аaccording to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Israel said the violence claimed┬аthe lives of more than 70 people┬аin┬аIsrael тАФ more than half of them civilians тАФ and dozens more soldiers in southern Lebanon.
The two initially agreed to a brokered truce to begin on Nov. 27, but both sides later broke the pledge.
