A ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel has been reached that will see the release of some hostages held by the militant group for more than a year, negotiators and U.S. officials said Wednesday.
The news was made public by Sen. Jim Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during a Senate hearing on President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio. But Risch warned against complacency. He said he wants to see how the deal is implemented before he can declare it a success.
The news of the ceasefire agreement was welcomed by both parties. Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told Risch that it was “good news.” The terms of the ceasefire proposal will be worked out in stages, and some hostages will be released, three US officials confirmed to the AP.
Hamas will release some hostages it has held since its October 2023 attacks on Israel, and Israeli authorities will release some Palestinian prisoners.
