Gaza ceasefire deal latest: Hamas and Israel reach ceasefire deal as shelling ‘kills 12’ in Gaza
Key points
- Hamas and Israel agree ceasefire deal to pause 15-month-long Gaza warWhat’s in the agreement?Biden says deal will lead to permanent end to the warShelling kills 12 in northern Gaza, says Hamas-run agencyAnalysis: An end to this long war is finally in sightAnalysis: Biden won’t give him credit – but deal wouldn’t have happened without TrumpWatch:Celebrations break out in Gaza
01:02:41 Biden deliering farewell address
US President Joe Biden is delivering his farewell address to the nation and he is likely to mention the ceasefire.
We’ll bring you any remarks he makes about the ceasefire here.
You can watch Mr Biden’s speech live in the link below:
00:32:59 Netanyahu says ceasefire deal is still not complete
Benjamin Netanyahu has said the ceasefire agreement is still not complete and the final deals are being worked out.
The Israeli prime minister has not explicitly said whether he accepts the deal, which was announced by US President Joe Biden and Qatar’s prime minister.
In a statement he said he would only issue a formal response “after the final details of the agreement, which are currently being worked on, are completed.”
23:59:01 Held in captivity: Faces of hostages who still haven’t returned home to Israel
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, 94 of the 251 people taken hostage during the attack on 7 October 2023 remain in Gaza.
It’s not known how many have died in captivity. In some cases, deaths have been reported, but their bodies have not been returned home.
Families are still waiting desperately for news of their loved ones.
Find out more about those still missing here…
23:45:01 Timeline of war
After months of conflict and tens of thousands of deaths, hostilities will finally cease between Israel and Hamas.
Sky News looks back at what has happened since the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.
Read here…
23:15:01 Red Cross ready to facilitate hostage and detainee release
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the aid organisation stands ready to support the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees.
The ICRC previously helped to facilitate the release of 109 hostages and 154 detainees.
Mirjana Spoljaric said the group is also prepared to “massively scale up” its humanitarian response.
But this will require “continuous effort” from both sides to ensure its staff can carry our their work.
“There are no words to describe the level of suffering that Palestinians and Israelis are enduring on a daily basis.
“This nightmare has gone on for far too long. The suffering must end. Civilians in Gaza need protection and humanitarian aid. The hostages need to come home.
“This is only possible with political commitment from all sides to put humanity first and respect the rules of war.”
She added: “The coming days are critical and we are counting on the parties to hold to their commitments. While the agreement is welcome, it is not the end. There are immense humanitarian needs that must be addressed, which will take months, if not years.”
23:00:01 Analysis: Biden won’t give him credit – but deal wouldn’t have happened without Trump
By Mark Stone, US correspondent
President Joe Biden wasn’t amused by a central question surrounding this ceasefire deal.
“Is that a joke?” he said as he was asked which US president, he or Donald Trump, deserves credit for getting the ceasefire deal over the line. He couldn’t give Trump an ounce of credit.
It was an obvious question given that Trump had, hours earlier, claimed almost total credit for the ceasefire.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November…” he said in a social media statement.
Beyond the other central questions – whether the deal will hold and whether it can bring a lasting peace – it’s important to ask “why now”?
After all, the deal that’s now been agreed is pretty much word-for-word the same deal proposed by President Biden back in May last year. So what’s changed?
22:46:27 Former Israeli PM expresses ‘fear and doubt’ over deal
A former Israeli prime minister has expressed fear and doubt over the ceasefire deal.
“There is not an agreement about the end of the war,” Ehud Olmert told The World with Yalda Hakim.
He pointed out that the deal stipulates a 42-day temporary ceasefire and further negotiation.
“There is joy, there is a degree of relief… and yet at the same time there is a very strong feeling of doubt and of fear that it will end with this phase and we will not see the others.”
Asked if he is optimistic, he says he is “far from being certain”.
“The fundamental issue” is that Israeli and Palestinian leaders are not prepared to put together a “political horizon”, namely a two-state solution, he says.
22:26:55 Shelling kills 12 in northern Gaza, says Hamas-run agency
Shelling has killed 12 people in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence.
It said the attack on a residential block also wounded several people.
Videos emerging from the territory showed children among the wounded.
The ceasefire deal does not come into force until Sunday.
22:00:53 Ceasefire deal is reason to be ‘cautiously optimistic’, says hostage’s cousin
One of the people captured by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks was Tsachi Idan.
The 50-year-old was taken hostage when armed members of Hamas attacked his home, and shot his eldest daughter in front of him.
Tsachi Idan’s cousin, Adam Ma’anit, tells Sky News’ World presenter Yalda Hakim that the ceasefire deal agreed today is a reason to be “cautiously optimistic”.
“We have been here before. There have been moments in the past year when we felt like a deal was imminent and the hostages would be returned to us. We want all of them to be free immediately,” he says.
‘My family still haven’t been called’
He adds that it is a “very anxious time” and there are still so many details that are unknown.
“My family have not received an official call from the IDF or the Israeli government so there’s still so many things that we don’t know. We don’t even know if Tsachi is alive,” he says.
Reflecting on the day his cousin was taken, Mr Ma’anit says he saw his eldest daughter “murdered in front of his eyes”.
“For all we know, he might be thinking that the rest of his family were murdered,” he adds.
21:50:01 Analysis: Trump’s unpredictability focused minds
Trump’s unpredictability has focused minds in Qatar, Egypt, Iran and Israel, says US correspondent Mark Stone.
“Netanyahu realised over the course of the last 15 months that he didn’t need to dance to Joe Biden’s tune.”
He walked over Biden’s red lines and “nothing happened”.
“It’s different with Trump. Trump is unpredictable. That claim that ‘all hell would break lose’ if the hostages were not released very quickly after Trump took office. What did that mean? Was it an empty threat? Who knows. That’s Trump.”
Netanyahu also “needs Trump” because he wants normalisation of relations with Saudi Arabia.
“The Israelis are not likely to derail anything now because of one word: Trump.”