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What are the 3 phases of Israel-Hamas Gaza ceasefire agreement? Explained

ByNikita Sharma
Jan 16, 2025 12:05 PM IST

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas will be implemented in three phases starting January 19, 2025.

The bloodshed of thousands and entire Gaza almost in ruins - that is what it took before Israel and Hamas could reach a ceasefire and hostage release agreement after 15 months of devastating war.

People watch the live television broadcast of a press conference being addressed by Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, along a street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 15, 2025.(AFP)
People watch the live television broadcast of a press conference being addressed by Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, along a street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 15, 2025.(AFP)

Qatar and the United States, two of the major negotiators along with Egypt that brokered the indispensable ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, announced the major framework of the plan, which will be implemented in three phases.

Hours after the announcement, however, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire agreement is not complete, and the “final details” of the agreement are still being worked out.

Explained: The three phases

While the details of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement are still hazy, Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said the first phase of the agreement will come into effect from Sunday, January 19, 2025.

"We hope that this will be the last page of the war, and we hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement," he said while announcing the agreement.

US President Joe Biden, in a press conference after the announcement, shared some details of the plan.

The first phase of the agreement will be six-week long and will see a complete ceasefire in Gaza, he said. The initial phase also includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the populated areas in Gaza and the release of some of the Israeli hostages - including “women, elderly and wounded”, said Biden.

Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed, in his address, said children will also be released in the 42-day-long phase one, according to an AFP report.

Biden also said in exchange for these hostages, Israel would also release “hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners. “During phase one, Palestinians can also return to their neighbourhoods in all areas of Gaza, and a surge in humanitarian assistance in Gaza will begin, and the innocent people can have greater access to these vital supplies,” he added.

Biden said during the first phase, Israel will negotiate terms for implementing the second phase of the agreement. However, if negotiations take longer, the ceasefire will stay in place as long as necessary.

The second phase, whenever implemented, will see the return of remaining living Israeli hostages, including “male soldiers”, said Biden. “Remaining Israeli forces will be removed from Gaza, and the temporary ceasefire will become permanent,” he added.

However, Israeli forces would not fully withdraw from Gaza until "all hostages are returned", news agency AFP reported, citing an unnamed Israeli official.

Phase three of the agreement will include a reconstruction plan for Gaza, which remains in ruins for now with no health or any kind of infrastructure in place. “Finally, phase 3, any final remains of hostages who have been killed will return to their families and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin,” said Biden.

Negotiations for phase two and three

Netanyahu has said the ceasefire agreement, in its current form, is incomplete and more negotiations are needed to finalise the latter two phases of the plan.

He has blamed Hamas for backtracking from the previously decided terms of hostage-prisoner exchange and claimed that Hamas is trying to dictate which Palestinian prisoners will be released, according to an Associated Press report. There has been no response from Hamas.

What’s going in Gaza?

Soon after the announcement of the peace plan between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday night, the former intensified deadly air strikes on Gaza, killing 32 people, Reuters reported, citing Gaza medics. The strikes continued till Thursday morning and destroyed houses in several parts of Gaza city, said the report.

The ceasefire agreement will come into effect from January 19, which leaves a three-day window for Israel to pound already-battered Gaza.

Even as Gazans faced the Israeli military’s hostility after the ceasefire announcement, there was a wave of relief among them. The people of Gaza celebrated the ceasefire, which will bring a potentially permanent end to their 15-month-long suffering, although the path back to normalcy is still very long.

The United Nations has vowed assistance to provide Gaza with as much humanitarian aid as needed and possible. World Food Programme Chief Cindy McCain has said that food for as many as one million “acutely hungry” people is waiting for Gazans at the border.

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