Middle East latest: Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza is confirmed by the US and Qatar

A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been confirmed by the United States and Qatar, pausing the devastating 15-month war in Gaza and clearing the way for dozens of Israeli hostages to go home.

The ceasefire brings hopes of winding down the most deadly and destructive war Israel and Hamas have ever fought — a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Large crowds of joyful Palestinians took to the streets in Gaza, cheering and honking car horns.

“No one can feel the feeling that we are experiencing now, an indescribable, indescribable feeling,” said Mahmoud Wadi in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah before joining a chanting crowd.

The Israel Hamas-war has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities there. The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people and abducted around 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.

Here’s the latest:

Palestinians march in the West Bank after ceasefire deal is signed

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians are marching in part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and some have chanted, “Hamas!” in the hours after the Gaza ceasefire was announced Wednesday evening.

Associated Press video shows the men and women in the city of Ramallah, some holding flags. They also called out the name of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who masterminded the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war and was killed last year in Gaza.

The marchers also have chanted, “God is great.” They are stopping traffic in places, and security is nearby.

The West Bank, administered in part by the Palestinian Authority, has seen an increase in deadly unrest since the war in Gaza began.

Bloodshed in Gaza had a profound effect on young people, US voter engagement group says

WASHINGTON — Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z voter engagement group in the U.S., said Wednesday’s ceasefire deal is overdue and the war in Gaza had a profound effect on their generation.

“Gen Z, who has led the push for a ceasefire, will never forget the images of lifeless bodies and miles of rubble we’ve seen for over a year,” the organization said in a statement.

The group held Netanyahu responsible for his role in the bombing and famine that have killed thousands in Gaza, as well as Hamas for the “senseless violence on October 7th.”

UN human rights chief demands accountability for both Israel and Hamas

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights chief says people responsible for killings of civilians and other rights violations committed in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and subsequent killings across Gaza over more than 15 months must be held to account.

Volker Türk also said human rights must be at the forefront of any reconstruction of Gaza after Wednesday’s announcement of a cease-fire between Israel and the militant group Hamas in the strip.

“The right of victims to full reparations must be upheld,” said Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement. “There is no true way forward without honest truth-telling and accountability on all sides.”

The UN is working to rush aid into Gaza once the ceasefire begins

UNITED NATIONS — The top U.N. humanitarian official for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, has been discussing with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials how to increase desperately needed aid after a ceasefire takes effect.

The U.N. humanitarian office reported Tuesday that “Israeli authorities continue to deny U.N.-led efforts to reach people with vital assistance,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday.

He said U.N. efforts are “seriously constrained” by fighting, armed looting of aid convoys, Israeli access restrictions, road damage, unexplored ordnance, fuel shortages and a lack of telecommunications equipment.

Palestinians express mixed reactions of relief and loss

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A Palestinian man in central Gaza, Haitham Doghmosh, summed up the mixed reactions of relief and loss after the ceasefire was announced.

“Thank God that the agreement has been reached and that we will return to our homes, to our families, and to our loved ones,” he said, however, “It is true that our homes are gone, and our loved ones, our brothers, and our families are gone.”

In the city of Deir al-Balah, there were pounding drums, clapping and celebratory gunfire. Excited men hung out the windows of honking cars.

Israel’s president calls on Netanyahu government to approve the Gaza ceasefire

JERUSALEM — Israel’s president has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to approve the Gaza ceasefire.

Isaac Herzog made the appeal in a nationally televised speech.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Qatar’s prime minister announced the deal late Wednesday, but Netanyahu’s office did not immediately confirm its acceptance.

“I strengthen the hands of the prime minister and the negotiating team in their efforts to bring about a deal and call on the Israeli government to approve it when it is brought before them,” Herzog said.

Herzog’s position is largely ceremonial and is meant to serve as a unifying force and moral compass for the country.

Netanyahu’s Cabinet must approve the deal for it to go into effect.

Israeli hostage families group welcomes ceasefire deal and thanks mediators

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Hostage Families Forum, which represents many relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, has welcomed “with overwhelming joy and relief” the agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“We have been anxiously awaiting this moment, and now, after 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones,” the group said in a statement shortly after the agreement was announced.

The group thanked both the outgoing and incoming U.S. administrations and the international mediators for facilitating the deal.

Trump’s pressure on Israel and Hamas to finish the ceasefire deal appears to have worked, analyst says

WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has hammered home warnings that there better be a Gaza hostage deal by his Jan. 20 inauguration or “all hell would break out.”

Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both seem to have been listening.

Netanyahu’s agreement to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal Wednesday “ironically shows how effective actual pressure can be in changing Israeli government behavior,” said Nancy Okail, head of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy.

She accused Netanyahu of long stalling such a deal, and faulted Biden for not raising the stakes for Netanyahu in his continued objections to proposed terms.

Trump declared in a social media post last month “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY” if the hostages weren’t released before the U.S. Inauguration Day.

“It will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” he told reporters this month, underscoring the deadline.

Biden says Israel-Hamas ceasefire will hold if both sides keep negotiating for a lasting truce

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a speech on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire immediately after fellow mediator Qatar announced a deal had been reached.

The six-week ceasefire will allow for negotiations to bring about a permanent end to the war, Biden said. He added if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the ceasefire would continue as long as talks continue.

Biden noted that his administration negotiated the deal but that Trump’s team will soon be charged with making sure it’s implemented. Trump’s incoming Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, had joined White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk as the talks came to fruition in Doha.

“For the past few days, we have been speaking as one team,” Biden said.

First group of hostage
s may be freed when ceasefire takes effect Sunday, US official says

WASHINGTON — Implementation of the agreement could begin Sunday, when the first group of hostages may be freed, according to a senior U.S. official involved in the talks. The official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S., Qatari and Egyptian negotiators along with Israel’s team nearby worked until the wee hours Wednesday morning, just a floor above where the Hamas negotiators were also at work, the senior official said.

Later Thursday, Hamas made several last second demands, but “we held very firm” and Hamas eventually agreed to the terms of the deal, the U.S. official said.

Biden hails Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden cheered the announcement of the ceasefire and hostage deal, and credited “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy” for landing the agreement, while claiming a measure of credit in the breakthrough moment in the 15-month war.

“I laid out the precise contours of this plan on May 31, 2024, after which it was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council,” Biden added in a statement. “My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.”

Biden’s comments came not long after President-elect Donald Trump in a social media post claimed his election victory is what brought about the deal.

Qatari prime minister says ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar’s prime minister on Wednesday announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, pausing the devastating 15-month war in Gaza and clearing the way for dozens of Israeli hostages to go home.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced the agreement in the Qatari capital of Doha, the site of weeks of painstaking negotiations. He said the deal would go into effect on Sunday.

Officials had earlier said a deal had been reached. There was still no confirmation from Israel.

Families of American hostages in Gaza are grateful a deal is reached

WASHINGTON — The families of the seven American hostages still held in Gaza expressed their deep gratitude for news that Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage deal Wednesday.

“The coming days and weeks will be just as painful for our families as the entirety of our loved ones’ horrific ordeals,” the families’ statement said. “That is why we ask all parties to stay committed to this agreement, every phase until it is fully implemented and everyone has been returned.”

Over six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, although it’s unclear if all are alive.

Turkey says the drawn-out Gaza ceasefire talks prolonged civilian suffering

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s foreign minister said a year of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza needlessly prolonged civilian suffering and “only provided more time for Israel’s operations.”

Hakan Fidan spoke at a news conference Wednesday in Ankara shortly before officials confirmed a deal had been reached.

“What happened? Fifty thousand people, mostly women and children, were massacred, human dignity was trampled and the international system emerged as dead and buried,” he said.

Israel’s Netanyahu says a ceasefire deal with Hamas is still not reached

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says a ceasefire deal with Hamas has still not been reached.

In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said that final details were still unresolved, but that it hoped “details will be finalized tonight.”

That comes after multiple officials had said Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release dozens of hostages after more than 15 months of war.

Israeli airstrike in the West Bank kills 5 people, medics say

RAMALLAH, West Bank: The Palestinian Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike in the occupied West Bank has killed four people.

It said the strike occurred Wednesday in Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. Israeli military acknowledged the strike but did not comment further.

An airstrike in Jenin on Tuesday killed six people. The Israeli military has carried out frequent raids into Jenin targeting militants, often igniting gunbattles. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority has also been carrying out a rare crackdown on militants in Jenin in recent weeks.

The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there.

Trump cheers for the hostage release and ceasefire deal

WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump celebrated the soon-to-be-announced ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas in a post on his Truth Social social media platform.

“WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!” Trump wrote.

Trump’s incoming Mideast envoy had joined Biden’s Mideast adviser for the talks in Doha.

Trump also claimed credit for the agreement being reached.

“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 wrote on social media. “I am thrilled American and Israeli hostages will be returning home to be reunited with their families and loved ones.”

Trump last week had vowed “all hell” would break loose on Hamas if a deal wasn’t reached before his inauguration next week.

Trump in his posting added that his incoming Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, would continue “to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”

His incoming national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, in his own posting on X also credited Trump calling the development, “The Trump Effect.”

Palestinians and Israelis react to ceasefire deal

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, large crowds of joyful Palestinians have taken to the streets, with people cheering and honking car horns.

“We have been waiting for this happiness for a year and a half. No one can feel the feeling that we are experiencing now, an indescribable, indescribable feeling,” said Mahmoud Wadi in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah before joining a chanting crowd.

Even as Palestinians celebrated outside Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, an ambulance with its sirens and flashing lights hurriedly wove among the crowd.

Ashraf Sahwiel, a displaced man who is currently living in a tent in Deir al-Balah with five family members, said all 2 million people in Gaza have been closely following the negotiations in recent days — even children, who are eager to return to their homes.

As news of the deal reached Israel, “hostages square” in Tel Aviv was calm, with some people unaware that it had gone through.

Sharone lifschitz, whose father Oded is being held hostage told the AP by phone she was stunned and grateful but won’t believe it until she sees them come home.

“I can’t wait to see them coming back to their families I’m so desperate to see them if by some miracle my father has survived,” she said.

Now it’s up to everyone not to sabotage it, she said.

Some people whose friends are being held hostage said they won’t trust the deal until all the hostages returned.

“I don’t trust Hamas, don’t trust them at all to bring them back,” said Vered Froner. She and her mother hid in a safe room for 17 hours in Nachal Oz kibbutz during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

She said she’d prefer to have had all of the hostages return at once rather than a phased approach.

US officials confirm a ceasefire deal is reached between Israel and Hamas

WASHINGTON — A deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas that will see some hostages freed and the pause war in Gaza, three US officials confirmed to The Associated Press.

One official said that it was expected that the ceasefire would be implemented in the coming days. All three requested anonymity to discuss the contours of the deal before the official announcement by mediators in Doha.

President Joe Biden was preparing to address the breakthrough agreement later Thursday, officials said.

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By Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller.

Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire deal to pause Gaza war and release some hostages, mediators say

DOHA, Qatar — Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, mediators announced Wednesday, pausing a devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip and raising the possibility of winding down the the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

The deal, coming after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It also would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a devastated territory.

Palestinians await news of a ceasefire

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Dozens of displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip lined up at a charity kitchen on Wednesday as they awaited word of a ceasefire.

Aman Abu Jarad, a displaced woman from Beit Hanoun, is yearning to return home and rejoin her siblings and loved ones, despite the massive destruction across the Gaza Strip.

“Even though it has already been bombed, at least we return to our land. The moment a ceasefire takes hold, there is a psychological relief, and you return to the land you used to live on better than being in humiliation,” she said.

Nearly 2 million Palestinians in the territory have been displaced because of the war and are suffering from malnutrition, lack of food aid, destroyed healthcare infrastructure and harsh winter conditions.

“We would ululate as we go back home safely, but our homes have been bombed and everything is gone. Where do we go?” said Kifaiya Al-Attar, a displaced woman from Beit Lahiya.

A last-minute snag in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks is resolved, Hamas official says

DOHA, Qatar — A Hamas official says a last-minute dispute in ceasefire talks between the militant group and Israel has been resolved.

Israel announced late Wednesday that Hamas had tried to change agreed-upon understandings for security arrangements along Gaza’s border with Egypt. It strongly rejected the proposals.

The Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, confirmed the matter was resolved.

There was still no official word on whether a final agreement had been reached.

___ By Najib Jobain. Samy Magdy in Cairo and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed.

White House says Gaza ceasefire still has issues that needed to be ironed out, officials say

WASHINGTON — White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk had briefed Biden administration officials on the status of the negotiations early Wednesday and told them that talks were continuing but there were still issues that needed to be ironed out, according to two administration officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.

An Egyptian is detained in Syria over threats to overthrow Egypt’s government

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian authorities have detained an Egyptian who released videos in which he vowed to overthrow the government in Cairo, a Syrian Interior Ministry official said Wednesday.

Ahmad al-Mansour has been living in Syria for years and was among the fighters led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that toppled the government of President Bashar Assad in December.

Al-Mansour was detained late Tuesday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In a video recently posted on social media, al-Mansour said that like Assad, “the turn of the dictator is coming.” He was apparently referring to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who came to power in 2013 after ousting the democratically elected government led by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Mansour’s arrest is likely to ease concerns in some Arab countries, including Egypt, that Syria could be used as a base to destabilize regional countries.

Israel says it confiscated 3,300 weapons from Syrian territory

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said it had confiscated over 3,300 weapons in the past six weeks in and around areas in Syria where Israeli troops have operated close to the Golan Heights.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops will occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future. Israel said it has seized Syrian army tanks, weapons, anti-tank missiles, rocket propelled grenades, shells, mortars and mortar shells, and observation equipment, among other weapons.

Israel’s capture of the buffer zone in December following the ouster of President Bashar Assad has sparked criticism that Israel was violating a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria. Syrians in the areas Israeli forces have moved into have protested their presence and complained about the lack of action by the country’s new authorities to pressure Israel to withdraw.

The military said the seizure of weapons and its presence in the buffer zone are necessary to ensure the security of Israel and the Golan Heights.

Israel seized control of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it — a move not recognized by most of the international community.

Norway says a ceasefire for Gaza is only the beginning of a long recovery

OSLO, Norway — Norway’s foreign minister says it’s important to look ahead to the longer-term future as hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza rise.

Espen Barth Eide said at an event in Oslo Wednesday attended by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa that “that it’s really the moment to deep dive into what will then happen next.”

He cautioned that “just the ceasefire can easily create the sense of vacuum, of unfulfilled hope. And the problems in Gaza would not be over. The divisions will not be over. The hatred would not be laid to rest if it was only a ceasefire.”

Barth Eide said the international community expects “that Israel understands that it’s time to move on and to help solve the long outstanding issue of Palestine. And of course, that our friends in Palestine also work effectively together to build a strong government and a strong capacity that all the Palestinian territories are united, so that both sides have a good partner in building peace.”

Norway is one of three European countries that formally recognized a Palestinian state in May.

Palestinian prime minister says Palestinian Authority should run Gaza in future

OSLO, Norway — The Palestinian prime minister says it’s unacceptable for any entity other than the Palestinian Authority to run the Gaza Strip in the future, as Israel and Hamas appear to be at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to end 15 months of war.

“While we’re waiting for the ceasefire, it’s important to stress that it will not be acceptable for any entity to govern Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the State of Palestine,” Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said Wednesday. He was visiting Norway, one of three European countries that formally recognized a Palestinian state in May.

Mustafa said “any attempt to consolidate the separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, or creating transitional entities, will be rejected.”

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, confining the Western-backed Palestinian Authority’s limited self-rule to parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The U.S. has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood, which the Israeli government opposes.

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