If the deal is implemented, it will not only stop Israeli destruction in Gaza for the time being, but also open the way for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and Palestinians held by Israel.
Palestinian groups Hamas and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire that has raised hopes of ending more than 460 days of fighting in Gaza.
International media reported that the two sides reached an agreement on Wednesday night with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the ceasefire agreement would come into effect on Sunday. However, more work remains to be done with Israel and Hamas on the implementation of the agreement.
Israel said more issues were yet to be finalised. The deal needs cabinet approval to be implemented, which could be voted on as early as Thursday.
Israel has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.
Al Jazeera says that if this agreement is implemented, it will stop Israeli destruction in Gaza for the time being, as well as open the way for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and Palestinians held by Israel.
The deal will also allow displaced Palestinians to return home, although most of them are left after the destruction caused by Israeli forces.
The initial phase of the ceasefire will last six weeks. This includes a limited prisoner exchange, a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Thirty-three Israeli prisoners, including women, children and civilians over 50, detained during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, will be released. In return, Israel would release more Palestinian prisoners at this stage, including those serving life sentences. The list of possible releases includes about 1,000 Palestinians who were detained after October 7.
Israeli forces will be withdrawn from settlements in Gaza while the prisoner exchange continues. However, they will remain within 700 meters of the Gaza border.
However, Israel will not withdraw its troops from the Netzarim corridor passing through the Gaza Strip. From there, troops may be removed in phases.
Israel will allow civilians from the besieged northern part of Gaza to return home. At the same time, 600 relief trucks will be allowed to enter every day. International aid agencies have already warned that famine could occur in the war-torn region.
Israel will allow injured Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment and open the Rafah crossing with Egypt seven days after the start of the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire.
The Israeli military presence in the Philadelphia corridor on the border between Egypt and Gaza will also be reduced. And by the 50th day of the agreement coming into force, there will be a complete withdrawal of troops from there.
What happens after the first stage?
Israel and Hamas have agreed in principle on the second and third phases of the ceasefire, but the first phase will discuss the details within six weeks. US President Joe Biden has said that the ceasefire will continue even after six weeks of the first phase of talks.
Israel has said it will not provide written guarantees that it will not invade Gaza again once the first phase of the ceasefire goes as planned and the Israelis held hostage by Hamas are freed.
But an Egyptian source said the three negotiating countries involved in the ceasefire talks – Egypt, Qatar and the United States – had given Hamas verbal guarantees that talks would continue and that they would press for an agreement that would ensure the implementation of the second and third phases before the initial six-week period expired.
What are the plans for Phase 2?
If Hamas is confident that all conditions for the start of the second phase of the ceasefire have been met, it will release the remaining Israelis held by it, most of them soldiers. Israel will also release Palestinians imprisoned. At the same time, Israel will begin the process of complete withdrawal of troops from Gaza.
However, the terms of the ceasefire contradict the stated position of many far-right members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. Even Netanyahu himself has blamed Hamas’s presence for the prolongation of the conflict in Gaza many times in the past. For a ceasefire to take effect, Netanyahu’s cabinet must approve it.
Third stage
Details of the third phase of the ceasefire remain unclear.
If the conditions of the second phase are met, the bodies of the dead prisoners will be handed over in the third phase. At the same time, the implementation of a reconstruction plan of three to five years in Gaza under international supervision will begin.
After the start of the ceasefire, there is no agreement on who will govern Gaza. The US says the task should be handed over to a “modified structure” of the Palestinian Authority.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that international partners could call for an interim administration for post-war reconstruction and management of vital services. Other partners, especially Arab states, can send forces to ensure security in the short term.
For such a plan to be effective, the support of Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, is needed. But Saudi Arabia says it will only support the project if it aims to establish an independent Palestinian state.