BREAKING...Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire deal

Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire agreement designed to end 15-month Gaza war, official says

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the deal told Reuters. The agreement opens the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East. It follows months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States, and came just ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

As his inauguration approached, Trump repeated his demand that a deal be done swiftly, warning repeatedly that there would be "hell to pay" if the hostages were not released.  His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff worked with President Joe Biden's team to push the deal over the line. In Israel, the return of the hostages may ease some of the public anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government over the Oct. 7 security failure that led to the deadliest single day in the country's history.

The deal comes after Israel killed the top leaders of Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah in assassinations which gave it the upper hand. 

Source: Reuters