Israel and Hamas agree on ceasefire after 50,000 die

Phased truce could see Israeli hostages released on Sunday

- BEL TREW SAM KILEY

Israel and Hamas have agreed a historic ceasefire to end 15 months of war in Gaza, a conflict in which almost 50,000 people have been killed and which has threatened to draw in the whole of the Middle East.

A truce and hostage deal was reached yesterday after the prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim alThani, met Hamas negotiators and then separately the Israelis. Qatar has been a key mediator in seeking to end the conflict. President-elect Donald Trump was quick to hail the end of the war, writing on Truth Social: “We have a deal for the hostages.”

The Qatari prime minister later confirmed the deal in a delayed press conference. He revealed that it would go into effect on Sunday and said its success would rely on Israel and Hamas “acting in good faith in order to ensure that this agreement does not collapse”.

The cost of the conflict has been brutal. Triggered by a bloody attack by Hamas inside southern Israel on 7 October 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage, Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has left more than 46,700 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian officials. More than 110,000 people have been injured, and thousands of others are feared buried in the rubble of the devastated enclave.

The UN estimates that around 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. They say tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and a majority of hospitals are barely functioning or are out of action. Experts have warned that famine may be underway in northern Gaza, where Israel launched a major offensive in early October, displacing tens of thousands of residents.