What do we know about the Gaza ceasefire agreement?
Almost the entire population of Gaza has been displaced by the war.
Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a deal that could end the war in Gaza and lead to the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
CBS, the BBC's American partner, has been told by Arab, American and Israeli officials that an agreement in principle has been reached and that, if all goes well, will be finalized by Israel and Hamas this week.
It would be the most dramatic breakthrough in the 15-month war, which began when the Palestinian armed group Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
What could a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas contain? A ceasefire agreement is expected to end the raging war in Gaza.
It should also trigger a hostage and prisoner exchange.
Hamas took 251 hostages during its attack on Israel in October 2023. It still holds 94, although Israel estimates that only 60 are still alive.
Israel is expected to release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some held for years, in exchange for hostages. Why is there a war in Gaza? How will the ceasefire happen? The latter is expected to be carried out in three phases, once the agreement is announced.
Details are still being finalized. Until an agreement is finalized, it can change. First phase
A Palestinian official told the BBC that in the first phase, 34 hostages - expected to be civilians - will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
Three hostages will be released immediately, while the rest of the exchange will take place over six weeks.
During this phase, Israeli troops will also begin to withdraw from residential areas of Gaza.
The Palestinian official said that detailed negotiations for the second and third phases will begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire.
Second phase
In the second phase, the remaining hostages - soldiers and reservists - will be released, in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners. Of the 1,000 Palestinian prisoners Israel has agreed to release, about 190 are serving sentences of 15 years or more. An Israeli official told the BBC that those convicted of murder would not be released in the occupied West Bank.
During this phase, Israel will also allow people currently displaced in southern Gaza to return to the north.
Almost all of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been forced to flee their homes because of the fighting.
Third step
The third and final phase involved the reconstruction of Gaza, which could take years. The Israeli official said Israeli forces would remain in a buffer zone, or security zone, in Gaza during any ceasefire.
Reuters An Israeli woman holds a poster of Israeli hostages as she looks across the fence toward Gaza (file photo) Reuters
Hamas still holds dozens of hostages, captured during its attack on Israel in October 2023
What are the unanswered questions about the deal? Getting to this point took months of careful indirect negotiations, not least because Israel and Hamas are deeply suspicious of each other.
Hamas wanted a complete end to the war before releasing the hostages, which was unacceptable to Israel.
The ceasefire would effectively suspend the war until its conditions are met. However, it is not certain that this means the war will end forever.
One of the main goals of Israel's war has been to destroy Hamas' military and governmental capabilities. Although Israel has severely damaged them, Hamas still has some ability to function and regroup.
It is not yet clear which hostages are alive or dead, or whether Hamas knows the whereabouts of all those who are missing.
For its part, Hamas has demanded the release of some prisoners, but Israel says it will not release them. This figure appears to include those involved in the October 7 attacks.
It is also unclear whether Israel has agreed to withdraw from the buffer zone by a certain date, or whether its presence there will be unlimited.
Any ceasefire is likely to be fragile.
The ceasefires between Israel and Hamas that ended previous wars have been plagued by fighting and eventually collapsed.
The timing and complexity of this ceasefire means that even a small incident could become a major threat. What happened on October 7, 2023 and what happened in Gaza? Hundreds of Hamas-led gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, breaching the border fence and targeting communities, police stations and military bases.
About 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were returned to Gaza. Hamas also launched thousands of rockets into Israel.
Israel responded with a massive military campaign, first by air and then by ground invasion. Since then, Israel has attacked targets across Gaza by land, sea and air, while Hamas has fired rockets into Israel.
The Israeli offensive has devastated Gaza and caused a severe food shortage, with aid struggling to reach those most in need. More than 46,600 people - most of them civilians - have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
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