By Jeremy Diamond, Mick Krever and Lauren Kent, CNN
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for action to secure the release of Israelis held hostage in Gaza since the October 2023, in front of the Israeli defence ministry in Tel Aviv on 15 January 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. Photo: JACK GUEZ / AFP
The Israel government and Hamas have agreed to a deal that will pause fighting in Gaza and lead to the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, a source briefed on the talks has told CNN.
Under the deal, which is yet to be formally announced, Hamas and its allied militant groups are expected to release 33 hostages seized from Israel during the attacks of 7 October 2023. In return, Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The agreement would deliver the first reprieve from war for the people of Gaza in more than a year, and only the second since the Israeli bombardment began.
Once confirmed, it is expected that the deal will allow Palestinian civilians to return to northern Gaza and there would be a massive influx of humanitarian aid into the strip, where residents have long faced dire humanitarian conditions.
The Israeli military would begin withdrawing from population centres during the first phase, but would remain along the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, an Israeli official said earlier on Wednesday local time.
Israel would also maintain a buffer zone inside Gaza along the border with Israel, the size of which has been one of the final sticking points in the negotiations.
The agreement would also ramp up the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza, according to the Associated Press, which has seen a copy of the draft deal.
The deal is expected to include the release of five female Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in the first phase of the agreement, each of whom would be exchanged for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 convicted militants who are serving life sentences, The Associated Press reported.
Palestinian prisoners deemed responsible for killing Israelis would not be released into the West Bank, but rather to the Gaza Strip or abroad following agreements with foreign countries.
Hamas and its allies still hold 94 people taken from Israel on 7 October 2023. At least 34 of them are dead, according to the Israeli government, though the true number is expected to be higher. Hamas holds an additional four hostages who have been captive since 2014, at least two of whom are dead.
Photo: AFP / Bashar Taleb
Of the 94 hostages taken on 7 October, 81 are men and 13 are women, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. Two are children under the age of five; 84 are Israelis, eight are Thai, one is Nepalese and one is Tanzanian.
Israel holds at least 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society - though that number does not include an unknown number of Palestinians taken captive in Gaza. The figure of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel includes 3376 people held under administrative detention, meaning they have had no public charges against them nor faced trial, including 95 children and 22 women.
Second phase intended to end war
Negotiations to reach the second and third phases of a ceasefire agreement - which is intended to end the war - would begin on the 16th day of the implementation of the deal, according to an Israeli official.
The ceasefire is not guaranteed to continue beyond the first phase of the deal. However, the official said Israel is eager to "bring all our hostages back home" and will enter negotiations to enter the second phase of the agreement in good faith, which could lead to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Israel does not commit to ending the war in the agreement but has committed to engage in negotiations to enter the next phase of the deal - which would lead to the full withdrawal of Israeli troops. The Associated Press reported that the mediators gave Hamas verbal guarantees that they will pressure Israel to reach a deal for the next phases of the agreement.
The Israeli military has killed at least 46,645 Palestinians in Gaza since launching its offensive in response to Hamas' 7 October attack, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. More than 110,000 people have been injured.
- CNN
