Peace agreement approved between Israel and Hamas | Here’s what to know

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(ASSOCIATED PRESS) — After months of gridlock, President Donald Trump finally landed a long-sought Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza — an agreement that only came together after a weekslong diplomacy blitz and a whole lot of help from some Arab and Muslim allies. The breakthrough is designed to bring about a pause in the fighting unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The group is expected to release 48 hostages — about 20 of them believed to be alive — in the coming days. The brutal war finally reached a turning point because a badly battered Hamas recognized the hostages had become more of a liability than an asset, according to two senior U.S. officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations. One of the officials said negotiators, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, believed they finally had an opening when they sensed that “Hamas had enough.” Still, the way to an agreement had remained complicated, leaving the U.S. administration in the difficult position of negotiating through a thicket of distrust between Israel and its Middle East neighbors that was in danger of further metastasizing. Major questions remain, including over governance and reconstruction of a territory that largely has been destroyed as well as whether Hamas will disarm — a key Israeli demand that the militants have not yet publicly accepted.