SLP, Mexico.- Israel and Hamas agreed this Wednesday on a ceasefire, after 15 months of war, according to announced separately President Joe Biden and the Prime Minister of Qatar.
“This agreement will stop the fighting in Gaza, provide much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and bring together hostages with their families after more than 15 months of captivity,” Biden declared in an official statement.
It is, he said, the same proposal which he carried out in May 2024, which was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.
The agreement also provides for the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
“While we welcome this news, we remember all the families whose loved ones were killed in the attack. Hamas of October 7, and to the many innocent deaths in the war that followed. It is time for the fighting to end and the work of building peace and security to begin,” declared the US president.
Today, after many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire and hostage deal.
My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done – I will speak more about this soon. pic.twitter.com/iETWhGXEGA
—President Biden (@POTUS) January 15, 2025
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al Thani advertisement that the truce comes into force on Sunday, January 19 and asked for “calm” until then.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said there remained “several unresolved points” but hoped “details would be finalized this evening.”
The agreement comes after weeks of intense rounds of indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital, Doha, between Israel and Hamas, mediated by facilitators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
The president of Israel, Isaac Herzogcalled on “the cabinet and government of Israel to accept and approve it when it is presented,” and stated: “At great cost in blood, through enormous security, diplomatic and social efforts, we have created a moment of opportunity. We must take advantage of it.”
In a live appearance, Herzog assured that Israel is going through a crucial moment, and recognized that the country “failed to fulfill its duty by not protecting its citizens in the attacks by Gazan militiamen on October 7,” in which almost 1,200 people died. and 251 were kidnapped, according to reports Europe Press.
Hamas, for its part, considered that the ceasefire pact is “an achievement” for the population and the “resistance” of the Palestinian people.
According to the Palestinian newspaper Filastinlinked to Hamas, the leaders of Islamist forces and factions expressed their satisfaction with the direction of the negotiations and underlined “the need for national preparations for the next stage and its requirements.”
