Israel - Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held in Gaza following separate meetings with Qatar's prime minister, a source briefed on the talks told AFP.

A "Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal [was] reached following [the] Qatari PM's meeting with Hamas negotiators and separately Israeli negotiators in his office," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the talks' sensitivity.

Pressure to put an end to Israel's destruction on gaZA had ratcheted up in recent days, as mediators Qatar, Egypt, and the US intensified efforts to cement an agreement.

The announcement comes after months of failed bids to end the deadliest war in the Palestinian people's history, and days ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who immediately hailed the deal before it was officially announced by President Joe Biden's White House.

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"We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!" Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Trump had warned Hamas of "hell to pay" if it did not free the remaining captives before he took office, and envoys from both his incoming administration and Biden's outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations.

The ceasefire deal is split into three phases, with the first mandating a pause in fighting while Israeli soldiers withdraw to within just under 3,000 feet inside Gaza. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will release 33 hostages of the 60 still believed to be alive, while Israel will free 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and hostages.

People in Gaza will also be allowed some amount of free movement to seek medical care, after more than a year of Israeli attacks on the strip's health care system.

For months, Israeli intransigence the permanence of any ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops, and the scale of humanitarian aid for Palestinians had scuppered any progress. As late as this week, Israel's self-described fascist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir – a member of the war cabinet – boasted about personally blocking deals from being completed.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, has opposed any post-war role for the militant group in the territory.

The US has backed Israel to the hilt, often vetoing ceasefire resolutions at the UN Security Council, while providing the vast majority of weapons used to annihilate every facet of Palestinian life in Gaza over the past 15 months.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday Israel would ultimately "have to accept reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under the leadership of a reformed" Palestinian Authority, and embrace a "path toward forming an independent Palestinian state."

He added that the "best incentive" to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace remained the prospect of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a project both the Biden administration and Trump have obsessively pursued, despite its lack of irrelevance to the issue of Palestinian self-determination.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, speaking in Oslo, said the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire showed international pressure on Israel "does pay off."

Report after report from human rights organizations and legal experts has declared the Israeli assault to be genocidal, with its true death toll believed to be much higher than the official 46,700.

Thousands of Gazans celebrated Wednesday as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas, aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in the Palestinian territory.

AFP journalists in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah and other areas witnessed people gathering in groups, hugging, and taking photos with their mobile phones to mark the announcement.

While Israel says that some issues in the Gaza deal remain "unresolved," they hope to "finalize tonight."