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Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to pause the war in Gaza and release hostages, mediators said Wednesday, according to reports from Reuters and The Associated Press.It comes more than 15 months into a deadly campaign that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.The deal, not yet formally announced, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.The agreement still needs to be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, but is expected to go into effect in the coming days. It also does not guarantee a permanent truce.Three officials from the U.S. and one from Hamas confirmed that a deal had been reached, while a senior Israeli official said details are still being ironed out. All three U.S. officials requested anonymity to discuss the contours of the deal before the official announcement by mediators in Doha.A man waves Palestinian flags as Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire deal with Israel on Wednesday in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. (Ramadan Abed/Reuters)U.S. president-elect Donald Trump confirmed that a deal had been reached to release hostages held in Gaza."We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday.You can read the main points of the draft deal here.Phase 1 of the deal, which will span 42 days, will include the release of 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children and men over 50.Negotiations on implementing the second phase will begin by the 16th day of Phase 1 and it is expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.The third phase is expected to address the return of all remaining dead bodies and the start of Gaza's reconstruction, supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.'Breakthrough' in truce talks came earlier this weekMediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of an agreement on Monday, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, after a midnight "breakthrough" in talks attended by envoys of both outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and Trump.Mediators had met repeatedly in recent months but intensified their work in hopes of finalizing an agreement before Biden leaves the White House on Monday.In the past, hostages were said to be one key sticking point in the negotiations. Israel insisted on retaining a military presence in Gaza, but Hamas refused to release captives until the troops pulled out.WATCH | Israel, Hamas reach truce deal, mediators say: Canada has long called for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an urgent flow of humanitarian aid. The country joined Australia and New Zealand in July to demand a ceasefire, saying the countries were still "unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas" but that civilians in Gaza "cannot be made to pay the price."Last year, Canada also voted in favour of a non-binding United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian pause — representing a shift away from its long-standing practice of voting with Israel on major resolutions at the UN.Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the ceasefire announcement Wednesday as they take part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Oded Balilty/The Associated Press)Inauguration day in the U.S. was widely seen as an unofficial deadline to reach a deal. Trump had warned "all hell" would break out if hostages were not freed by the time his second term began.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said negotiators wanted to make sure Trump would continue to back the deal on the table, so it was "critical" to have Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff attend talks, along with Biden's envoy Brett McGurk.Israel launched its air and ground assault on Gaza after fighters led by Hamas stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.Israel has said roughly 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, but it is unclear how many are alive.WATCH | Aid agencies say Gaza desperately needs a ceasefire: The Health Ministry in Gaza has said Israel's attacks have killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, making it the deadliest war in decades of conflict between the two. Israel's campaign has also pushed most of Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes and left most of the coastal enclave, including its health-care infrastructure, in ruins. For those left in the strip, Israel's tightened blockade has cut off access to basic necessities like food and medicine. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC — an initiative controlled by United Nations bodies and major relief agencies — said in November "there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent" in parts of the northern strip.Israel has rejected claims of famine. It called the IPC a "true master class in misinformation, bias and dishonest reporting," according to a statement from the United Nations.Palestinians struggle to reach for food at a distribution centre in Khan Younis earlier this month. (Abdel Kareem Hana/The Associated Press)There have been various temporary pauses in fighting so military aid could be delivered, and in November 2023, there was a days-long truce as some hostages in Gaza and detainees in Israel jails were released.The 15-month war has also led to violence in Lebanon.Israel invaded part of the country this fall to try and weaken Hezbollah — a militant group which had launched near-daily aerial attacks against Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, on account of its allyship with Hamas.More than 3,960 people had been killed in Lebanon as of late November, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Israel said the violence claimed the lives of more than 70 people in Israel — more than half of them civilians — and dozens more soldiers in southern Lebanon.The two previously agreed to a brokered truce to begin on Nov. 27, but both sides later broke the pledge.
