On Jan. 15, a potential ceasefire and hostage deal was announced to be in the works between Israel and Hamas to pause the Israel-Hamas conflict and release select hostages on both sides while providing aid to those in the Gaza strip.

Past ceasefire attempts

After 15 months of war– which started in October of 2023– a potential ceasefire has been announced that will temporarily pause the war in Gaza, as well as supply support and resources to the displaced victims, while hostage releases are sorted out.

However, potential ceasefires had been announced in the past. Back in August of 2024, Al Jazeera recounts how a potential deal was put into the works, but its drastic demands and reluctance from Israel led to it falling through.

“Attempts at talks started in November [2024] with Hamas pushing for an end to all hostilities, the release of thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails and the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza,” Al Jazeera stated.

Israel fiercely rejected these demands, as Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu’s ultimate goal is to “dismantle Hamas completely,” a goal many officials have announced as impossible to achieve. 

It was for this same reason that the brief ceasefire in late 2023 also fell through, though that period of time saw the release of over 50 Israeli captives and over 150 Palestinian captives; both groups were primarily composed of women and children.

This week, however, a more solid series of deals are being debated by Israel, Hamas and its various mediators. News sources such as CNN and The Associated Press have been releasing real-time updates as information is released; here is a comprehensive explanation of the current objectives and stage of the deal.

Who are the hostages to be released?

Both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have been separately positive on the hostage situation in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, Jan. 15, mere hours after the announcement, Trump posted on social media Truth Social: “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”

Biden’s national security advisor, John Kirby, took to CNN and local news to make a statement about his feelings on the deal, and the White House’s current progress on the matter. While there are still some issues, the advisor is confident that they will be sorted out in due time.

“We are confident these implementing details can be hammered out and that the deal will move forward this weekend,” Kirby said.

The ceasefire and hostage deal is said to be scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 17, and the situation should be sorted by the end of the weekend.

One question remains, however: who exactly are the hostages that will be released?

On Oct. 7, 2023, 251 people were taken from Israel. As of Jan. 10, 2025, 94 are suspected to still remain in Gaza. The first 157 were recovered, both alive and dead, over the past months. 

As for the remaining 94, a multi-phase plan is currently being laid out to release hostages periodically, with the first phase having already been planned.

“The first phase of the deal reached in Doha between Hamas and Israel, announced on Wednesday, includes a pause in the war and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli custody,” CNN states.

The first phase is expected to start on Sunday, and will involve the release of 33 hostages from Hamas over a six-week period. These hostages will primarily be women, children and the sick or injured.

Mick Krever, a reporter for CNN, discussed how Netanyahu and his cabinet are walking a delicate line of hostage release and peace.

“Israelis will be happy that at least some of the hostages will be coming home, but the extremist nationalist ministers in Netanyahu’s government are worried that peace will be permanent in Gaza, and the military will no longer be able to attack Hamas,” Krever said.

The exact identities of the hostages from Hamas and Israel have not been fully disclosed at this time. However, hundreds of Palestinians should be released in exchange for the roughly 30 Israeli prisoners. 

“Israel will free 30 Palestinian women, children or elderly for each living civilian hostage freed. For each female soldier freed, Israel will release 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 serving life sentences. In exchange for bodies handed over by Hamas, Israel will free all women and children it has detained from Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023,” The Associated Press states.

Unfortunately, most male captives will not be a part of the first phase of the hostage release plan.

Will Gaza receive support?

Beyond the hostage deal comes a potential ceasefire. With this ceasefire, Palestinians and those otherwise displaced by the conflict should be able to return to their homes in Gaza. On top of this, more humanitarian aid will be welcomed into the area, ideally without disruption.

Thousands of humanitarian aid trucks are waiting to cross the border from Egypt into the Gaza strip, says WHO representative for Occupied Palestine Territories, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn.

“Peeperkorn said an influx of aid could help to rebuild electricity, water, waste management systems and other infrastructure that have been damaged in more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza,” The Associated Press states.

If these humanitarian trucks cannot enter Gaza, Peeperkorn claims that it would be utterly devastating.

Ideally, however, the deal will allow access for an influx of aid from outside countries and humanitarian efforts.

The future of the Israel-Hamas conflict

As of Friday, Jan. 17, the Israeli security cabinet has officially approved the ceasefire-hostage deal. While this is not a definite promise of Israel signing the agreement, gathering support from the security cabinet is an excellent start to ideally end the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and his cabinet entered a meeting to consider the ceasefire deal Friday afternoon. No official announcement has been made.

The war has been going on for over a year now, and the death toll reaches roughly 50,000 individuals from both sides of the war, and even journalists and humanitarian aid workers.

While a ceasefire-hostage deal would save the lives of many, it cannot bring back those who have already passed during this conflict. Families have been torn apart and left in anguish, and cultural areas– especially within the Gaza strip– have been destroyed. Celebrating the deal while mourning those who have been lost is a difficult but necessary balance to reach.

We can only hope that the ceasefire lasts, and humanitarian aid is able to reach those who have been affected by the conflict.