Israel and Hamas have reached a deal to halt the fighting in the Gaza Strip and free dozens of Israeli hostages, who endured more than 15 months of captivity, officials say.
The breakthrough deal, which was reached after an intense 96 hours of negotiations and met with celebrations in the streets of Israel and Gaza, will create a 42-day cease-fire starting Jan. 19 in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
So far, only a six-week pause has been agreed — setting up more tough negotiations between Israel and the terror group over the release of all 60 living hostages and a permanent withdrawal of Israeli forces.
President-elect Donald Trump, who had warned that there would be “hell to pay” if an agreement was not reached before his inauguration next week, took credit for the breakthrough in negotiations.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could…
