Hamas and Israel have agreed to a 42-day ceasefire deal in Gaza that includes a hostage exchange agreement, Qatari mediators announced in Doha on Wednesday.
The deal, set to begin on Sunday, will include the release of Hamas-held hostages in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, according to the announcement.
U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that American citizens would be among those released. “This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families,” Biden said.
The agreement also provides for the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes across the Gaza Strip and facilitates medical evacuations for wounded and sick residents.
Israel’s security cabinet is scheduled to meet at 11 p.m. on Thursday to approve the agreement, with a majority of ministers expected to back the deal, a government official told Reuters.
Egyptian state media reported that authorities are preparing to deliver “the largest possible amount of aid” to Gaza through the Rafah crossing once the ceasefire takes effect.
The conflict, which began after Hamas’s October 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 taken hostage, has claimed more than 46,700 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Israel has also killed around 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, while around 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the war.
According to Israel, 94 hostages remain in captivity, with 34 presumed dead. Four additional Israelis were abducted before the war, two of whom are deceased.
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.
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