CAIRO – 17 January 2025: The foreign ministers of Egypt and Qatar stressed the importance of implementing the ceasefire agreement for the war in Gaza without delay during a phone call on Friday.
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, also discussed the launch of a central follow-up mechanism in Cairo to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
They praised the Egyptian-Qatari efforts, in collaboration with the United States, to achieve a ceasefire and a prisoner swap agreement, aimed at halting the bloodshed among the Palestinian people, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave, and securing the release of captives and prisoners.
Israel’s security cabinet has ratified a ceasefire agreement to halt the war in Gaza, which has continued over 15 months, and exchange dozens of captives held by Hamas for a large number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
If approved by the full cabinet, the agreement will take effect Sunday afternoon with the release of first captives.
In an address to the nation, Israeli President Isaac Herzog acknowledged that the ceasefire deal would bring "harrowing moments" and "significant challenges," but urged the cabinet to approve it.
Egypt, Qatar, and the US, which have mediated talks between Israel and Hamas over the past year, announced on Wednesday that Hamas and Israel reached the agreement.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States of America issued on Wednesday a joint statement on the brokered deal in Gaza Strip#Egypt #Africa #MENAhttps://t.co/15TZqXj08H
— Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) January 16, 2025
The phased agreement will allow for the release of captives held by Hamas since their surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, including both living and deceased captives, in exchange for numerous Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Both Israelis and Palestinians have received the news with intense joy, celebrating this long-awaited moment in streets with tears of joy.
People in many Arab countries have also celebrated this feat, filling streets and public squares with joyful chants.
Meanwhile, heavy Israeli airstrikes have continued in Gaza since the ceasefire announcement, killing at least 104 Palestinians, including dozens of women and children, according to health authorities the enclave.
DEAL DETAILED
As per the deal, Hamas is set to release 33 captives in the first phase, which spans 42 days, alongside the withdrawal of Israeli forces toward the East.
The first phase includes a ceasefire, withdrawal and redeployment of Israeli forces from densely populated areas, an exchange of prisoners and detainees, and the return of the remains of the deceased.
During this initial phase, internally displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to their homes in Gaza, and arrangements will be made for the sick and wounded to receive treatment.
The first phase also aims to intensify the safe and effective entry and distribution of humanitarian aid on a large scale in the Gaza Strip, rehabilitate hospitals, health centers, and bakeries, and provide civil defense supplies and fuel, as well as shelter for those displaced by the war.
Talks regarding the implementation of the second phase of the agreement are set to commence on the 16th day of the first phase.
The second phase stage is anticipated to encompass the release of all remaining hostages, the establishment of a lasting ceasefire, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The third phase will focus on the recovery of all remaining deceased individuals and the initiation of reconstruction efforts in Gaza, overseen by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations.
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