Keys to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pointed out, after the agreement in principle reached with Hamas on Wednesday was made public, that there are still loose ends to be resolved before a truce is signed to enforce a ceasefire after 15 months of conflict in Gaza. The Israeli government is expected to debate and vote on the proposal on Thursday, so there may yet be modifications to the agreement drawn up during negotiations in Doha between representatives of the party-militia and Israel, with mediation from the United States and Egypt.

Depending on what happens over the next few hours, these are the details that have emerged so far of the agreement, which is divided into three phases. The first lasts 42 days and begins with the release of Israeli hostages held in the Strip. Negotiations on the second stage would begin on the 16th day of the first phase, if the agreements advance as stipulated. The third phase would be negotiated, in principle, after the second phase has already begun.

Release of the hostages

During the first phase of the agreement, 33 Israeli hostages will be released, including children, women, female soldiers, men over 50, and the wounded and sick. In the second phase, the remaining living hostages will be released — including male soldiers and men under 50 — and finally, the bodies of deceased hostages will be handed over. Of the 251 hostages kidnapped during the Hamas-led attacks on Israel of October 7, 2023, 96 remain within the Strip. Of these, 34 are confirmed to have died, while 117 have returned alive — only eight of them as a result of military operations — and 38 bodies have been recovered by the Israeli army. In exchange for the hostages, Israel will release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, which will not include Hamas fighters who participated in the October 7 attacks.

Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip

The withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will be gradual, although some Israeli military units will remain near the border to ensure the security of towns and villages in the area, according to Reuters. Citizens in northern Gaza will be allowed to return to their homes and a mechanism will be put in place to ensure that there are no weapons in the area. Israel will withdraw from the Netzarim corridor, a road built by Israel in central Gaza that divides the Strip in two.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will also be reopened gradually, allowing sick or wounded people to pass through. A significant increase in humanitarian aid is also planned for the Strip. The agreement reached between Hamas and Israel includes the entry of 600 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza during each day of the ceasefire, 50 of them carrying fuel and 300 assigned to the north of the territory, according to Reuters. Before the war, around 500 trucks of aid entered the Strip each day, according to data from the United Nations. In contrast, between January and December 11, 2024, an average of 108 trucks entered the territory per day. In past negotiations, there has been talk of returning to pre-conflict levels and even sending more aid.

Who will rule govern after the truce?

The future government of Gaza and the reconstruction of the Strip will be discussed during the third phase of the agreement, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources cited by Reuters. At the moment there are important unknowns on this matter, in particular over who will govern the enclave after the war. Israel has assured that it will not allow Hamas to remain in power, and has also rejected the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, taking over administration of the Strip. The Israeli government has repeatedly stated that it will administer the security of Gaza, something that has been rejected by both Hamas and the international community. The latter consider that it should be the Gazans themselves who take charge of the management of the enclave. On that point, however, no details are yet known.

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