New Delhi:Qatar and the United States announced Wednesday a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, adding that they hoped it would pave the way for a permanent end to the war in Gaza, Agence France Presse reported.
After mediators said a deal had been reached, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "final details" were being worked on.
Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to thank them for their help securing the agreement, his office said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said the deal was the "right move" to bring back hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war.
That attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel's ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 20 people were killed in Israeli strikes after the agreement was announced.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani told a press conference Wednesday that the "two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal", adding that the ceasefire between them would take effect on Sunday.
"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.
Biden, meanwhile, said he was "deeply satisfied this day has come", calling the negotiations some of the "toughest" of his career.
He added that an as-yet unfinalised second phase of the agreement would bring a "permanent end to the war", saying he was "confident" the deal would hold.
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv calling for the release of the hostages embraced as news of the agreement spread, while thousands across Gaza celebrated the reported deal.
"I can't believe that this nightmare of more than a year is finally coming to an end. We have lost so many people, we've lost everything," said Randa Sameeh, a 45-year-old displaced from her home in Gaza City.
Hamas said in a press statement that the ceasefire was the "result of the legendary steadfastness of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip".
Pressure to put an end to the fighting had ratcheted up in recent days as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States intensified efforts to cement an agreement.
According to an AFP report, Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed said the three countries would monitor the implementation of the ceasefire via a body based in Cairo.
During the initial 42-day ceasefire, 33 hostages would be released, he said, "including civilian women and female recruits, as well as children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded".
Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas to allow for the exchanges, as well as "the return of the displaced people to their residences", he said.
The number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the Israeli hostages in the second and third phases would be "finalised" during the initial 42 days, he said.