by Jonathan Lis, Jack Khoury, Chaim Levinson, Michael Hauser Tov, Ben Samuels, David Issacharoff, Rueters and AP at Haaretz
A cease-fire and hostage release deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas, Israeli, Egyptian and U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
An Israeli source told Haaretz that the living hostages will be released first, and that Israel hopes the release process will begin early next week, before Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. President.
Qatar’s prime minister said at a press conference Wednesday night that the cease-fire will take effect on Sunday, and that Qatar will continue to work with Egypt and the U.S. to ensure the implementation of the deal between Israel and Hamas. The Qatari Foreign Ministry added that the cease-fire will commence at 12:15 P.M. Sunday.