January 16, 2025

Good morning. We’re covering a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, and Trump cabinet hearings in Washington.

Plus, ancient Celtic gender roles.

People celebrate while watching a television along a street in Khan Younis yesterday. Bashar Taleb/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hamas and Israel reached a cease-fire agreement

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas agreed yesterday to a 42-day cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, President Biden and other officials announced. The deal would take effect on Sunday, the Qatari prime minister said. Officials in Israel and Qatar said both sides were still hammering out the final details, and Israel’s cabinet and government would still need to ratify it. Here’s the latest.

The agreement raised hopes that there could soon be an end to more than a year of war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. About 100 hostages are thought to still be in Gaza, although the Israeli authorities believe around 35 of them are dead.

Hamas confirmed the cease-fire deal in a statement on Telegram, and hailed Gazans’ “legendary resilience” in the face of the war.

Biden said he was “confident” that the deal would hold, and that U.S. hostages would be released in the first phase. The cease-fire deal is broadly similar to a three-phase framework publicized by the U.S. in May, according to officials.

Details: The first phase would last six weeks. Israeli forces would withdraw to the east, away from populated areas, and some 33 hostages would be released over the course of 42 days, the Qatari prime minister said. Biden said that in addition to the releases, Palestinians would be able to return to their homes and would have access to a surge of humanitarian supplies.