Qatar announces that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire

Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, mediator Qatar announced on Wednesday evening. The ceasefire is set to begin on Sunday and last for 42 days initially, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced following talks in Doha. This is the first agreement of this kind since a pause in fighting more than a year ago after more than 15 months of intense