A year of talks designed to achieve a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas appears to have culminated in an agreement on January 16. The negotiations, backed by the United States, mostly occurred in Qatar. Throughout the week that began on January 13, the talks rapidly gathered pace toward an agreement, and Israel’s cabinet will vote on the matter tomorrow.
The hostage deal, whose parameters have not changed significantly since May 2024, was ironed out with backing from the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden and the incoming administration of President Donald Trump. The agreement is expected to unfold in three phases, over which Hamas will release almost 100 hostages, including the bodies of deceased captives. In exchange, Israel will release a large number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees for each hostage. A ceasefire will take place in Gaza during this time and may be extended depending on how the terms of the agreement progress.
The deal has fallen apart numerous times in the past. For example, only hours ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas had “reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions.” However, it appeared by nightfall on January 16 that this last-minute crisis was averted, and the deal would go forward.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Major General (Res) Eyal Zamir, the director general of Israel’s Ministry of Defense, conducted a situational assessment on Thursday with officials from the ministry, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is responsible for humanitarian issues in Gaza. “They directed that all Ministry capabilities be made available for implementing the hostage release deal, receiving the returning hostages, and supporting their families,” the defense minister’s office said in a statement.
The ministry’s “Rehabilitation Department and Department of Families and Commemoration have been placed on full alert alongside the IDF. They will provide all necessary assistance and support to the returning hostages and their families in all aspects, emphasizing close medical and mental health care and support, and will enhance emotional support and guidance for all families,” the statement added.
The ministry is also accelerating other plans related to “infrastructure work” necessary for the deal. It did not specify precisely what this meant, but the term apparently relates to border crossings between Gaza and Israel and how aid delivery or other activities will be executed.
The hostage agreement is significantly more complex than the first deal in November, which lasted an initial five days and was extended for several more. That ceasefire saw 81 Israelis and 24 non-Israelis, mostly kidnapped foreign workers, released. In Gaza, Hamas also holds the bodies of two Israeli soldiers since 2014 and two Israeli civilian hostages, Hisham Sayed and Avera Mengistu, who crossed into Gaza that same year. The IDF has recovered the bodies of 34 hostages since its ground offensive began on October 27, 2023. Israeli troops also rescued six hostages in two raids in Gaza over the past year.
The current deal has three phases. The first phase is supposed to last 42 days and is set to begin on January 19 if there are no more setbacks. During the first phase, the IDF will withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor south of Gaza City and other populated areas in Gaza. This process will only be complex in northern Gaza, where the IDF has been operating for three months in Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya.
Thirty-three hostages are supposed to be released in the first phase; women and children first, followed by female soldiers, and then men over the age of 50. Younger men will be released in the subsequent phases of the agreement. Eighty-one of the hostages are men, and 13 are women.
Reports indicate that Israel may release more than 1,000 prisoners and detainees. The number of Palestinians released differs based on the types of hostages Hamas frees; for instance, 50 prisoners for each female Israeli soldier, and 30 prisoners for each civilian hostage. Reports say a total of 47 Palestinians will be released in exchange for Avera Mengistu and Hisham Sayed.
