After bitter fighting within the Israeli government and months of grueling negotiations to reach an agreement with Hamas, the announcement came on the night between Thursday, January 16, and Friday, January 17: Negotiators from Israel, Hamas, the United States, and Qatar negotiated a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Qatar’s He officially signed the agreement on the release of Israeli hostages in the city of Doha. The hostage issue was resolved in the evening, after which the head of the ultra-Orthodox party “Shash”, Aryeh Deri, accepted all the agreed details.
On the US side, the agreement was signed by President Joe Biden’s chief Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk. American leader-elect Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff also worked to reach an agreement.
Minister Ben-Gvir is ready to resign
By intervening in the ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli far right had risked delaying the entry into force of the agreement reached in Doha until Monday, starting from the release of the first hostages. “If the agreement is approved, we will submit letters of resignation and will not be part of the government. We will return to being part of the agreement,” Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on the eve of an executive meeting called to vote on the agreement. “But only if the war in Gaza starts again.”
Biden’s request
Joe Biden asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “find a way to address the legitimate concerns of Palestinians” after all parties signed the Gaza ceasefire agreement. “I kept reminding my friend — and he is a friend, although we haven’t gotten along very well lately — that he must find a way to satisfy the legitimate concerns of a large group of Palestinians who have nowhere to live independently,” the outgoing president said.
The approval of the Netanyahu government is currently missing: the Israeli prime minister called a meeting of the security cabinet today to vote on the agreement. Netanyahu called Trump and Biden: “Thank you for your help on the ceasefire.” The ceasefire must begin on Sunday, January 19.
G7 review
G7 leaders called the Gaza ceasefire agreement a “significant development” and called on Israel and Hamas to work on the “full implementation” of the agreement. This was read in a statement calling on “all parties to work constructively in the next stages of negotiations”, “to help ensure their full implementation and a permanent cessation of hostilities”.
Source: Today IT

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.