00:00I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas.
00:07U.S. President Joe Biden, in the final days of his presidency, confirmed the successful
00:12negotiation of a ceasefire in Gaza, after more than 15 months of bloodshed.
00:18The deal is structured in three phases.
00:22Phase one will last six weeks.
00:25It includes a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the
00:30populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including
00:37women and elderly and the wounded.
00:40In exchange, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
00:44The U.S. and fellow mediator Qatar said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday.
00:49It comes after months of on-and-off negotiations by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the
00:54backing of the United States.
00:58At a news conference in Doha, Qatar's prime minister said the deal includes the release
01:03of 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children and men over 50 years old.
01:10Israel's acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country's
01:14security cabinet and government.
01:16And Israeli officials said votes were slated for Thursday.
01:20On the streets of Tel Aviv and in Khan Younis, Israelis and Palestinians both celebrated
01:26the news.
01:27We are happy with this victory because the Palestinian people simply want their freedom.
01:35Freedom for the Palestinian people.
01:37We don't want anything but freedom and to live with dignity without occupation.
01:42United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the priority now must be on getting humanitarian
01:48aid into Gaza.
01:50The humanitarian situation is at catastrophic levels.
01:54And I call on all parties to facilitate the rapid and endured and safe humanitarian relief
02:01for all civilians in need.
02:03On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led gunmen broke through security barriers and burst into Israeli
02:10border area communities, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and abducting over 250 foreign
02:16and Israeli hostages.
02:18In response, Israel's air and ground war in Gaza has since killed over 46,000 people,
02:25according to Gaza Health Ministry figures.
02:29Despite Wednesday's breakthrough, residents and medics at Israeli airstrikes killed several
02:33people Wednesday evening in Gaza, just hours after the ceasefire deal was reached.
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