A man inspects his home following an Israeli airstrike in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, on January 15, 2025, as the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continues. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A deal has been reached in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas to release hostages being held in Gaza and establish a ceasefire, one U.S. official and one Israeli official tell Axios.

Why it matters: About 98 hostages are still being held in Gaza, among them seven Americans. Roughly half of the hostages, including three Americans, are believed to be still alive, according to Israeli intelligence.

• More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The latest: President-elect Trump on Truth Social said “we have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East.”

• The Israeli cabinet will convene on Thursday morning local time to approve the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, officials said.
• Israel and Hamas haven’t officially announced a deal, but NBC News reported senior Hamas official Basem Naim confirmed the militant group had agreed to the agreement.

The big picture: The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas reached a critical point over the weekend, one week before Trump will be sworn into office.

Israeli officials, Hamas officials and mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. have been working around the clock for several days in Doha to hammer out a deal.

• President Biden’s top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff have both been in Doha since last week and have been working together to push for a deal.
• Earlier this week the mediators gave Hamas a final draft agreement.
• Hamas representatives in Doha gave their okay a few days ago but the parties waited for a response from Hamas’ military leader in Gaza Mohammed Sinwar, which arrived on Wednesday afternoon local time.

Zoom in: According to the agreement, 33 hostages will be released in the first phase of the deal, including women, children, men over the age of 50 and men under the age of 50 who are wounded and sick.

• Hamas has not yet provided information on the condition of those 33 hostages, a senior Israeli official told reporters on Monday. Israel’s assessment is that most are alive.
• The hostages will be released gradually throughout the first phase of the agreement, which would last 42 days. At the same time, there would be a ceasefire in Gaza.

During the first phase, Israeli Defense Forces will also gradually withdraw to a buffer zone in Gaza near the border with Israel, the official said. The IDF will leave the Netzarim corridor in the center of the Gaza Strip and the Philadelphi corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt — two areas that have been a sticking point in past negotiations.

• But Israel won’t completely withdraw from Gaza until all of the hostages are returned, the Israeli official said.

Palestinians will also be allowed to return to northern Gaza during the first phase of the deal. The Israeli official said there would be “security arrangements” to ensure no militants or weapons are moved to the northern part of the Strip.

• Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will also be released, including those who murdered Israelis. The exact number of prisoners to be released will be determined only after Hamas clarifies which of the hostages to be released are alive, the official said.
• The Israeli official said Palestinian prisoners who murdered Israelis would not be released to the West Bank, but declined to say where they would be released to. Hamas members who participated in the Oct. 7 attack won’t be released in the first phase.

Editor’s note: This is a developing story. Check back for updates.