The long-awaited ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel will go into effect in less than 24 hours, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Qatar’s foreign minister, Majid al-Ansari, posted on X that the ceasefire will start at 1:30 a.m. EST Sunday. He advised people to exercise caution when the agreement goes into effect and wait for directions from officials.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the start time, saying it was preparing to implement the “operational procedures in the field in accordance with the set agreements.”
Tsafrir Abayov / AP
“The IDF has been preparing to receive the hostages after their release from Hamas captivity and is operating to provide suitable physical and psychological support, with careful attention to every detail,” it said in a statement Saturday. “Alongside the agreement and our commitment to bringing home all the hostages, the IDF will continue to operate in order to ensure the security of all Israeli citizens, particularly those in communities near the Gaza Strip.”
Early Saturday morning local time, Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would see the release of dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war with Hamas. The deal brings the two sides a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever.
How the ceasefire and hostage deal works
According to a translated draft of the agreement viewed by CBS News, and as described by President Biden, the deal consists of three phases, each lasting 42 days.
Hamas would start releasing hostages on the first day, initially returning three to Israel, according to the draft viewed by CBS News. On the seventh day, Hamas would release four hostages. Thereafter, Hamas would release three hostages taken from Israel every seven days, starting with the living and then moving on to return the bodies of those who have died.
It would release 33 women and children hostages in total during the first phase, as well as hostages over 50 years old, the draft viewed by CBS News said.
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
Mr. Biden said Wednesday that Americans would be among the hostages released in this phase, but he did not specify any names or how soon they would be freed.
The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
The plan says that during phase one, some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners will be released, in exchange for 33 Israeli hostages, both alive and dead. Among the prisoners, 1,167 are residents of Gaza who were held by Israel but were not involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack. All women and children under 19 from Gaza held by Israel will be freed during this phase.
According to the ceasefire plan, approved by the Cabinet and signed by Israel’s national security adviser, the exchange will begin Sunday at 9 a.m. EST. During each exchange, prisoners will be released by Israel after the hostages have arrived safely.
Missile strikes continue while aid is on the way
Despite the ceasefire news, sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday, with the army saying it intercepted projectiles launched from Yemen.
The Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up their missile attacks, in recent weeks. The group says the attacks are part of their campaign aimed at pressuring Israel and the West over the war in Gaza.
There were also continued Israeli strikes into Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 23 people were killed in the previous day.
Also, during the first phase, Israeli troops are to pull back into a buffer zone about a kilometer (0.6 miles) wide inside Gaza, along its borders with Israel.
Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images
That will allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, including in Gaza City and northern Gaza. With most of Gaza’s population driven into massive, squalid tent camps, Palestinians are desperate to get back to their homes, even though many were destroyed or heavily damaged by Israel’s campaign.
The largely devastated territory should also see a surge in humanitarian aid. Trucks carrying aid lined up Friday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza.
On Saturday, two Egyptian government ministers arrived in the northern Sinai Peninsula to oversee the preparations for the delivery of aid and to receive the evacuation of wounded patients, the health ministry said.
Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.
Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead.
