A ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has gone into effect in Gaza, allowing the territory's more than two million Palestinians some respite after 15 months of devastating war.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement will see some of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza's borders with Israel, and a significant increase in humanitarian access.
It is hoped that the first phase will pave the way for the second and third phases, which will lead to the release of all detainees and a permanent ceasefire.
The road to this latest deal has been long and full of false starts. Here is a look at the journey to this agreement since the war began on October 7, 2023.
The first agreement
After more than six weeks of war that destroyed many areas of Gaza and killed thousands, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce on November 21, 2023.
In the weeks since Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and killed 1,200 people, the Israeli military attacked Gaza from the air and on the ground, killing more than 14,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Additionally, an estimated 1.7 million Palestinians were displaced and forced by Israeli forces to flee to areas south of the Strip.
After weeks of hectic talks led by Qatar and several instances where a deal appeared on the verge of collapse, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a meeting of his cabinet, which voted to approve the deal.
About 250 hostages were taken by Hamas and other Palestinian groups following the October 7 attack. As part of the November agreement, 110 were released.
Israel released more than 240 Palestinian prisoners, all of them women and children.
The agreement was extended to seven days, but Netanyahu made it clear that Israel is not ending its war in Gaza and that the ceasefire was temporary. Israel resumed its war in Gaza on December 1, 2023.
International pressure
As Israel's war in Gaza escalated, protests broke out around the world.
Notably, university students in the United States have held campus protests and sit-ins that have attracted worldwide attention.
As the war continued, several European countries officially recognized the state of Palestine, including Ireland, Spain and Norway.
South Africa also filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which was later supported by at least 14 countries, including Belgium, Colombia, Turkey, Egypt, Chile and Spain.
Negotiations are ongoing
In May 2024, as the war in Gaza enters its eighth month, hopes that a resolution may be reached to end the war are growing as negotiations continue.
In Cairo, Egyptian and Qatari officials worked with the Americans to find a deal – and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on May 6 that his group had accepted the proposal. Palestinians began to celebrate in the streets of Gaza.
That deal, which will take place in three phases, said Hamas would release 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons within 42 days. In the second phase, the Israeli army will fully withdraw from Gaza.
However, Israel said it had not yet agreed to the terms of the ceasefire. Soon after, Israel launched an attack on Rafah in southern Gaza.
Then in late May, US President Joe Biden said that Israel had agreed to 'an indefinite cease-fire proposal'. But later Netanyahu rejected this plan and continued the war.
The war in Lebanon
Israel and Hezbollah began fighting each other on October 8, 2023, as the Lebanese group said it was firing at Israel in coordination with Gaza. On September 23, 2024, Israel intensified its attacks on Lebanon, killing more than 550 people in one day. This attack happened a few days after the pager and walkie-talkie attack, and a few days before the assassination of the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
A few days later, on October 1, 2024, Israel attacked southern Lebanon.
Commentator Hamzé Attar told Al Jazeera that he believes Israel's goals in Gaza were achieved in early 2024 but the war was extended to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A cease-fire was announced on November 27 which will see Hezbollah withdraw its military infrastructure north of the Litani River and the Lebanese Army will be deployed in southern Lebanon. The ceasefire agreement also states that Israeli forces must withdraw from southern Lebanon before the end of the 60-day ceasefire.
Israeli soldiers are still present in the border towns and are destroying homes and villages before withdrawing.
ICJ warrants
In November 2024, the ICJ issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes in Gaza.
Many states said they would respect the court's decision, although the US rejected the decision and some officials threatened the court.
Trump enters the fray
On December 2, US President-elect Donald Trump posted on social media that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages in Gaza are not released before he takes office. He repeated these demands in late December and again in early January.
The regional talks, including an end to the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, were reportedly coordinated between the Biden administration and some incoming officials from the new Trump administration.
An agreement has been reached
On January 15, negotiators reportedly reached an agreement after 15 months of war in which at least tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed. Some estimates put the death toll at over 100,000.
Israel's cabinet meeting approved the deal on Saturday, despite opposition from right-wing ministers.
The ceasefire was due to begin at 8:30am local time (06:30GMT) on Sunday, January 19. Shortly before this time, Netanyahu issued a statement saying that it would not begin until Hamas provided the names of the first three Israeli hostages to be arrested. released. Hamas attributed the delay in handing over names to “technical reasons”.
After Hamas released the names, the ceasefire came into effect at 11:15am local time (09:15GMT).
Similar to the agreement proposed in May, this ceasefire is expected to begin in three phases. The first phase will last 42 days as Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.
Israeli forces must also withdraw from Gaza's residential areas, allowing Palestinians to return to their settlements throughout the area as humanitarian aid is allowed. The United Nations and other agencies and organizations have accused the Israelis of blocking aid to Gaza for the better part of the past year.
Throughout the various negotiations, US officials have often placed the blame on Hamas for failing to agree to the terms of the cease-fire agreement. However, before the agreement, Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said that he had repeatedly blocked ceasefire agreements in the past 15 months.
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