What we know about the terms of the expected Gaza ceasefire agreement

Archie Bland

In today's Page One newsletter, my colleague Archie Bland discusses the prospects for a peace deal with the Guardian's senior international correspondent Julian Borger:

"We're told it's just a matter of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts," said Julian Borger. "But we've been here before."

"There seemed to be a breakthrough Monday night," Julian said. "We don't know exactly what that is about. The speed and scope of Israel's withdrawal has been a sticking point before."

The return of Donald Trump changes the Israeli calculus. "We've been living through a counterfactual for at least eight months," Julian said. "Because the far right has always threatened to overthrow Netanyahu, logic says there will be no deal. But the imminence of Trump's return is an X factor."

Here's what the expected deal would look like, according to a draft seen by Reuters yesterday:

• Hostages return: The first phase lasts for 60 days and will gradually release 33 hostages held in Gaza over six weeks - children, women (including female soldiers), men over 50 years old, the wounded and sick, in exchange for approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

• Withdraw troops: Israel will begin a phased withdrawal of troops from parts of the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egyptian border.

• Movement in Gaza: Unarmed residents will be allowed to return to northern Gaza and the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza will begin to gradually reopen.

• assistance: Israel will also begin delivering more much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Associated Press reports that there may be about 600 trucks a day. UNRWA said on Sunday that in early January, only about 50 aid trucks were entering Gaza per day.

• second stage: On day 16 of the first phase, if all goes as planned, negotiations will begin the second phase, which will see the release of more hostages, including male soldiers and young civilians, as well as the bodies of the victims. die in captivity in exchange for further concessions from Israel, with draft proposals that could include a "complete withdrawal" of the IDF from Gaza.

You can read more of Archie Bland’s conversation with Julian Borger here: What a Gaza ceasefire might look like

The Israeli military released the latest operational news on its official Telegram channel saying that yesterday, the Israeli army attacked "more than 50 terrorist targets throughout the region." Gaza Stripincluding terrorist organizations, weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure, anti-tank fire positions and Hamas military structures. "

Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday morning that the death toll from Israeli nighttime attacks on Gaza was at 24, with two people reportedly killed in recent "Israeli drone strikes in Gaza." Gilbert Adass Area north of the city Rafa".

The Lebanese state news agency reported that Israeli forces blew up houses and bulldozed roads in several locations across the territory overnight. southern lebanonincluding Aita al-Shaab, Hanin and Maroun al-Ras.

The Israeli military reported last night that three soldiers were injured when a military vehicle crushed explosives inside Israel. addictive in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said ceasefire talks in Gaza are "on the brink", with reports that the warring sides are close to reaching an agreement. Envoys representing the Biden White House and the incoming Trump administration participated in what was called a "final round" of talks on Tuesday, meeting with representatives of Israel, Egypt and Qatar.

Blinken said Israel had agreed to a deal and mediators were awaiting a response from Hamas. "This is closer than ever," he said. "But now, as we sit here, we await final word on Hamas' acceptance, and until we get that, we will continue to be on the edge."

Hamas has accepted a draft ceasefire and hostage release agreement, The Associated Press reported late Tuesday, citing two anonymous sources involved in the negotiations. The information has not been publicly confirmed by the group, and an Israeli official told the news agency that details of the agreement were still being finalized.

Reports in Israeli media and the capital of Qatar said the agreement would first release 33 Israeli hostages, including children, women, the elderly and the sick, as well as up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, while Israel would withdraw some of its troops in the first phase. 60 days.

• Hamas said earlier that negotiations had reached the final steps and hoped that an agreement could be reached in this round of negotiations. An Israeli official said the talks had entered a critical stage, although some details still needed to be ironed out: "We are close, but we are not there yet." The militant group Islamic Jihad said it would send a high-level delegation to the meeting on Tuesday. Arrive in Doha in the evening to participate in the final arrangements for the ceasefire agreement.

• Despite more than eight hours of talks in Qatar, no deal was reached on Tuesday night. A senior Hamas official told Reuters his group was awaiting documents from Israel that would provide more details on the geographic areas covered by the ceasefire. A spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry said earlier on Tuesday that negotiations on final details were ongoing after both sides received the text.

• Hopes are rising across Gaza that the war that has devastated the region, killed more than 46,000 people and displaced millions, is finally coming to an end, according to the Hamas-led health ministry. Residents of the embattled region expressed mixed emotions: hope and fear for the future, but also pain and sadness over the past 15 months. Previous apparent breakthroughs ultimately failed due to opposition from the Israeli prime minister's coalition government, with past experience denting optimism about the talks. Benjamin Netanyahu, Or the obstruction of Hamas in Gaza.

• Fighting in Gaza has continued in recent days despite reports that a ceasefire is imminent. Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 17 Palestinians, health officials said on Tuesday. Earlier attacks in Gaza killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health officials. One woman was pregnant and the baby also died.

• Blinken outlines vision for postwar settlement in outgoing Atlantic Council speech Under the agreement, Israel will accept unified leadership of the Gaza and West Bank territories from a reformed Palestinian Authority. Israel has so far rejected these conditions. He also spoke of strong engagement from the international community and Arab states, including the possibility of deploying troops to stabilize security and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. Blinken's speech was interrupted several times by protesters.