“The ceasefire agreement is a result of the legendary steadfastness of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip for over 15 months,” the Movement said, adding that it paved “the way towards the realization of our people’s aspirations for liberation and return.”
Hamas also extended thanks to mediators, who made great efforts to hammer out the agreement on Wednesday.
Commending the deal as a great achievement for the Palestinian people and the free people of the world, the Movement said it marks a turning point in the course of the conflict with the Israeli occupation, and constitutes an important step towards achieving the people’s goals of liberation and return.
It added the deal comes in response to its responsibility towards the patient people in the Gaza Strip, with the aim of stopping the aggression of the Israeli occupation and putting an end to the bloodshed, massacres and war of extermination to which the people of the Strip are being subjected.
Earlier Wednesday, Qatar’s Prime Minister and and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani announced that Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement to halt the 15-month war in Gaza and exchange Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
He said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday, January 19.
The agreement will be implemented over three stages, Sheikh Mohammed said. In an initial six-week phase, Israeli forces would gradually withdraw from central Gaza and Palestinians would be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
Hamas would release 33 Israeli captives over those six weeks, including all female soldiers and civilians, children and the elderly, he said.
Talks on the second phase would begin by the 16th day of the first phase, and are expected to include the release of the remaining captives and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an official briefing on the negotiations.
A third phase was expected to include the return of dead bodies and the start of reconstruction in Gaza, Reuters reported.
The announcement came as the Israeli army continued its deadly attacks across the Gaza Strip.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Wednesday that Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed at least 46,707 Palestinians, up by 62 from a day earlier. The number of people wounded has also risen to at least 110,265 people, it said.
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