Gaza War Timeline (19 January–17 March 2025)

An agreement for a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange was announced on 15 January 2025, after negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt with involvement from the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration. Its central objective was the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.[5][1] The first phase began on 19 January and was planned as a six-week or 42-day period; it was to be followed by negotiations on a second phase, rather than automatically establishing the terms for a permanent end to the war.[1][2]

The first phase provided for the phased release of 33 hostages, including women, older people, and wounded people, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. It also called for a cessation of hostilities, a reduced Israeli military presence in Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians to their neighborhoods, and a substantial expansion of humanitarian assistance.[1][2] The planned aid target was 600 trucks per day, while the exchange was described as involving approximately 1,900 Palestinian detainees and prisoners.[2]

The agreement envisaged discussions on the second phase beginning by the 16th day of the first phase. That next phase was to address the release of remaining living hostages, further prisoner releases, a wider Israeli withdrawal, and a permanent end to the war; President Joe Biden said the ceasefire would continue if those discussions extended beyond the six-week period.[1][2] The central unresolved issue was therefore not only whether the scheduled exchanges would occur, but also whether the parties could agree on what would follow them.

The agreement's planned implementation was subject to disputes over its terms and sequencing. Israel and Hamas later offered competing accounts of whether humanitarian and other obligations were being met and of which party was responsible for the lack of progress toward phase two.[6][3] The first phase's formal end date was also described differently in contemporaneous reporting: accounts referred to the period ending on 28 February, expiring at midnight between 28 February and 1 March, or ending on 2 March.[3][7]

19 January: Ceasefire and First Exchange

The ceasefire was scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on 19 January, but Israel said it would not take effect until Hamas supplied the names of the three hostages due to be released. After receiving the list, Israel announced that the ceasefire would begin at 11:15 a.m.; the Israeli military said it had continued striking targets in Gaza during the delay.[8][9]

The first exchange returned three Israeli women—Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher—to Israel through the Red Cross.[8] Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners that evening.[8] The agreement set out a 42-day first phase with 33 hostages scheduled for release, in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, alongside expanded aid and Israeli redeployments.[2]

Reports gave different totals for the aid entering Gaza on the first day. A Hamas interior-ministry source cited 552 trucks through three crossings, including 50 fuel and cooking-gas tankers, while UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher reported more than 630 trucks, at least 300 of them going to northern Gaza.[9]

25–30 January: Exchange Dispute and Return North

On 25 January, Hamas released four Israeli female soldiers captured at the Nahal Oz base: Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag. Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners.[10][11] Israel said that civilian hostage Arbel Yehud should have been released before the soldiers under the agreed order. In response, it delayed the opening of the Netzarim Corridor and the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.[8]

On 27 January, Israel and Hamas reached an understanding for six more hostages to be released in two groups. Israel began allowing displaced Palestinians to travel north after withdrawing from part of the Netzarim Corridor: pedestrians could use the route and coastal road, while vehicles could use the Salah al-Din road after inspection.[12] The Hamas government media office said more than 300,000 displaced people had returned to Gaza City and northern Gaza by that day; a later report attributed to the office a figure of more than 500,000 within 72 hours of the routes opening.[11]

The agreement on the additional releases provided for Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger, and another hostage to be released on 30 January, followed by three more hostages on 1 February. Hamas also supplied a count, without individual identities, stating that of 26 hostages still expected to be released in phase one, 18 were alive and eight were dead.[12]

On 30 January, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released Agam Berger, Arbel Yehud, and Gadi Moses, along with five Thai nationals. The eight had been held for 482 days.[13][14] The transfers took place in different locations: Berger was released in Jabalia, while Yehud and Moses, together with the Thai hostages, were handed over in Khan Younis amid a large crowd that obstructed the transfer to the Red Cross.[14] Israel paused the release of Palestinian prisoners, saying it needed guarantees of safe passage in later handovers; after mediators gave assurances, it released 110 prisoners.[14]

1–9 February: Exchanges and Israeli Withdrawal

On 1 February, three Israeli men—Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon, and Keith Siegel—were released after 484 days in captivity. Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners, including people serving lengthy or life sentences and people arrested in Gaza after 7 October 2023.[8] The Rafah Crossing also reopened for patients and wounded people seeking medical treatment in Egypt. The crossing was supervised by Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas and European Union forces, according to the reported account.[8]

The following releases took place as the parties approached the deadline for opening phase-two negotiations. The agreement called for those talks to begin by 3 February, the 16th day of the first phase, but accounts differed over whether substantive negotiations had begun: one source described talks starting after a 5 February meeting while also characterizing them as stalled, and another said negotiations had not taken place by the phase's end.[8][7]

On 8 February, Hamas released Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami after 491 days in captivity; Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.[15] The released men appeared pale and gaunt, drawing attention to the conditions in which the hostages had been held.[15] Their handover included a public stage event and a crowd around the transfer vehicles; a report said about 200 armed Hamas members secured the event.[16]

On 9 February, Israeli forces withdrew from the entire Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, completing the withdrawal scheduled for day 21 of the ceasefire. The corridor bisected the Strip; after the withdrawal, Palestinians were seen returning to areas previously controlled by Israeli forces, and vehicles could travel north and south on the Salah al-Din road. The agreement called for Israeli forces to maintain a buffer zone of up to about one kilometre along Gaza’s border with Israel.[17]

10–15 February: Suspension Threat and Renewed Exchange

On 10 February, Hamas announced that it might suspend further hostage releases, alleging that Israel had failed to allow sufficient humanitarian aid, heavy equipment, caravans, tents, and fuel into Gaza.[18][6] A later announcement described the suspension as effective “until further notice.” Hamas also cited delays in displaced people returning north and Israeli fire in parts of Gaza.[6] Israeli security officials gave different aid figures, saying 13,800 trucks had entered since the ceasefire began, along with 50 gas and fuel tankers daily and about 300,000 tents; the parties thus disputed whether the agreement’s humanitarian provisions were being fulfilled.[6]

The threat prompted public pressure and urgent mediation. President Donald Trump warned Hamas on 10 February to release all remaining Israeli hostages by noon on 15 February or face “all hell.”[19] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Trump’s encouragement, also threatened to end the ceasefire if hostages were not released by that date.[7]

After talks in Egypt, a Hamas delegation said on 13 February that the movement remained committed to implementing the agreement and the exchanges. On 15 February, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released Sagui Dekel-Chen, Alexander “Sasha” Troufanov, and Iair Horn; Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners, including 36 serving life sentences, and 26 prisoners were reported to have been deported to Egypt.[20][8] The released Israelis had been held by Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the exchange followed threats by Trump and Netanyahu over the continuation of the ceasefire.[8]

19–27 February: Proposal for a Single Release and Dispute over Bodies

On 19 February, Hamas proposed releasing all remaining hostages in one batch during the second phase instead of in stages. It presented the proposal as a sign of readiness to move toward a lasting ceasefire; Israel was also reported to be considering an extension of the temporary truce in return for additional hostage releases.[8]

On 20 February, Hamas transferred four coffins to the Red Cross, saying they contained the remains of Shiri Bibas, her sons Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz. Israeli authorities confirmed the identities of Lifshitz and the boys, but forensic testing found that one body was not Shiri Bibas’s and did not match another hostage. Israel identified it as an unidentified woman; Shiri’s remains were transferred later and identified by Israeli forensic authorities.[21][22] Israel’s military said its forensic findings and intelligence indicated that the children had been killed by their captors, not in an airstrike; Hamas disputed that account and said an Israeli airstrike had killed the family.[21]

The body transfer and the identity of the fourth body became a major point of contention. Hamas and the Mujahedin Movement called the initial transfer a mistake, while Israeli officials described the unidentified remains as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.[22] On 22 February, Hamas released six living Israeli hostages: Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed. Mengistu and al-Sayed had been held in Gaza for years, after entering in 2014 and 2015, respectively.[8]

Israel was due to release 602 Palestinian prisoners in the exchange, but delayed the release. The Israeli government cited the hostage handover ceremonies and treatment of the hostages, and said it wanted assurances that future transfers would occur without such ceremonies. Hamas disputed Israel’s position and said it would not proceed with talks until the prisoners were released.[8] Reports said Hamas had brought two other hostages, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, to watch the event; Israel described this as degrading and as propaganda use of hostages.[23]

During the night of 26 February, Hamas transferred the bodies of four Israeli hostages without a public ceremony. Israel then released 602 Palestinian prisoners whose release had been delayed, including 47 former prisoners from the Gilad Shalit exchange who had been rearrested and 50 people sentenced to life imprisonment.[24][25] Another account put the number of prisoners released in connection with the exchange at 620 and described the transfer as formally concluding phase one.[8] The agreement’s schedule had set 27 February for the return of four deceased hostages as the last scheduled release of the phase.[2]

End of Phase One and Aid Cutoff

The precise formal end of phase one was reported differently. One account said the first stage ended on 28 February; others said the 42-day period expired at midnight between 28 February and 1 March, while another account dated the end to 2 March. The sources agree that the parties did not reach an agreement on how to proceed to phase two.[3][7] An informal truce nevertheless continued through mid-March, despite the failure to establish terms for the next phase.[7]

The proposed next steps differed sharply. Hamas opposed extending phase one and called for negotiations on phase two, including a full Israeli withdrawal and a commitment not to resume fighting. Israel endorsed a U.S. proposal associated with envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary extension during Ramadan and Passover. Under the framework described by Israeli sources, half of the remaining hostages—living and dead—would be released at the start, with the rest released if the parties reached a permanent ceasefire.[26][8]

On 2 March, Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza after Hamas did not accept the proposed extension. Netanyahu said Israel had accepted a framework for releasing the remaining 59 hostages, while Hamas had not agreed to it; Hamas said the parties should proceed to the second phase rather than extend the first.[3][27] Israel said the Witkoff framework would extend the ceasefire through 19 April and that it had accepted the proposal; Hamas rejected the proposed terms and condemned the aid cutoff.[27]

The parties also offered competing explanations for the aid dispute and the phase-one impasse. Hamas claimed that Israeli forces had committed 962 ceasefire violations, causing at least 116 deaths and 490 injuries, and alleged that fuel trucks and shelter materials fell short of what the agreement required. These figures and allegations were reported as Hamas claims, not independently verified findings.[25] Israel said it had stopped aid in response to Hamas’s refusal to accept the extension and alleged that Hamas diverted aid; Hamas called the cutoff extortion.[28] In a 6 March briefing, a U.S. State Department spokesperson described aid delivery as dependent on a safe framework and characterized the stoppage as reflecting conditions on the ground, rather than endorsing the framing of it as withholding assistance.[29]

Proposals and Diplomacy, 4–17 March

On 4 March, Arab League members meeting in Cairo endorsed Egypt’s Gaza Recovery, Reconstruction & Development Plan, developed amid President Trump’s proposals concerning relocation of Gazans and U.S. or Israeli control of the territory. The plan rejected forced displacement and treated Gaza as integral Palestinian territory. It proposed a non-factional Gaza Administration Committee for six months before a transition to the Palestinian Authority, Egyptian and Jordanian training for Palestinian police, and an international peacekeeping presence under United Nations auspices.[30] The Congressional Research Service account said the plan did not explicitly address Hamas’s military wing and was reportedly rejected by Trump and Israel’s coalition government.[30]

Trump’s 4 February proposal had called for relocating Gaza’s more than two million Palestinians to other countries and placing Gaza under U.S. ownership and control as a “Riviera of the Middle East.” Hamas officials denounced the proposal; Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt rejected it, and Israeli reactions were mixed.[31] The Arab League summit was organized by Egypt in response to Trump’s statements. One advocacy commentary described the Egyptian plan as a five-year reconstruction effort with a budget of $53 billion; that account also reported that the White House confirmed direct contact between U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Hamas leaders in Doha after the summit.[32]

Reports emerged on 5 March that Boehler had held multiple meetings with senior Hamas figures. The discussions reportedly addressed the release of five Israeli hostages with U.S. citizenship and a broader arrangement for releasing all Israeli hostages and reaching a long-term ceasefire. Hamas confirmed meetings with U.S. administration representatives but said it sought a comprehensive agreement ending the war and Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.[33] U.S. officials described the direct contact as a one-off, while saying the main American negotiating channel would remain Witkoff’s work through Qatar.[34]

By 12 February, the scheduled exchanges had released 16 Israeli hostages, while five Thai nationals had also been freed outside the agreement. Qatar, Egypt, and the United States continued efforts to sustain the arrangement.[8][31] But progress toward an extension or phase two remained uncertain. On 9 March, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the movement opposed extending phase one and wanted phase-two discussions to include prisoner exchanges, full Israeli withdrawal, and an Israeli commitment not to resume hostilities.[33]

A proposal reported on 11 March would have exchanged ten living hostages for a 60-day extension, humanitarian aid deliveries, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, with the releases taking place without public ceremonies or media coverage.[33] Israel sent negotiators to Doha on 10 March for possible renewed talks, with Witkoff expected to join on 12 March. Witkoff said a long-term arrangement required Hamas to disarm, not rearm, and leave Gaza, and called for a timeframe for phase two.[34]

A later account said Witkoff submitted a proposal to negotiators in Doha on 12 March to extend phase one through 19 April in exchange for five living hostages and the remains of ten deceased hostages.[35] On 13 March, a proposal attributed to a source familiar with the negotiations was reported as an exchange of about five living hostages and the bodies of nine deceased hostages for a 50-day ceasefire beginning on 1 March, during which the parties would discuss continuing the deal. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasim criticized proposals that he said bypassed the existing agreement and called for moving to phase two, including an Israeli withdrawal.[36]

On 14 March, Hamas said it was prepared to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other American dual citizens, without a ceremony, and said it was ready to negotiate phase two. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office called the offer manipulation and psychological warfare and said Hamas had not accepted the Witkoff proposal.[37] Israel said it had accepted the proposed extension framework, while Hamas had not accepted its terms.[37]

On 15 March, Witkoff said Hamas had made demands he considered impractical without a permanent ceasefire and urged it to accept the U.S. bridge proposal. He said it included the immediate release of Edan Alexander and an extension intended to bridge toward talks on a permanent arrangement.[38] On 16 March, Witkoff described Hamas’s response as “not encouraging” and said discussions in Doha with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Palestinian Authority had included a final peace resolution for Gaza and demilitarization. The Times of Israel, citing two Arab diplomats, reported that Hamas had privately told Arab mediators it was prepared to give up governing control of Gaza, while also noting that Hamas had rejected the demilitarization demand.[39]

On 17 March, Israeli negotiators met senior Egyptian officials to discuss the 59 hostages still held in Gaza and efforts either to extend phase one or move to phase two. Hamas continued to insist on proceeding to the next phase, and the gaps between the parties remained wide. A Hamas spokesman said the talks were stalled because, in his account, Israel was reluctant to commit to phase two.[4][40] A report said a Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo within two days to discuss Witkoff’s proposal, after an earlier visit reportedly ended without clear agreement.[40]

Israeli forces had not resumed full-scale military operations by 17 March. The Israeli military said it struck cells in central and southern Gaza that were attempting to plant explosive devices; Israel had also approved plans for limited operations as leverage and was preparing for a possible return to full-scale fighting, with the reported risk to the hostages noted.[4][40] The period covered by this timeline therefore ended amid a continuing informal truce, an aid blockade, limited Israeli strikes, and unresolved negotiations.

By 17 March, the scheduled first phase had run its course without an agreed transition to the second phase. The hostage exchanges had returned living hostages and the remains of deceased hostages, while Israel had released Palestinian prisoners in corresponding rounds; the exchanges’ timing and conditions repeatedly became points of dispute.[24][8] The first phase’s precise formal end date remained inconsistently described in the sources, but all accounts indicate that no agreement on the next phase had been reached by the end of the period covered here.[3][7]

The ceasefire had not yet been replaced by a full-scale return to fighting. However, Israel had stopped the entry of goods and supplies on 2 March, and limited strikes were reported on 17 March.[3][4] Israeli negotiators were still in contact with Egyptian officials, and further meetings involving Hamas were anticipated, but the parties continued to disagree over whether to extend phase one or begin phase two and over the conditions for a lasting arrangement.[40]

The diplomatic debate extended beyond the hostage exchange. Egypt’s reconstruction plan, endorsed by the Arab League on 4 March, offered a proposed framework for Gaza’s administration, policing, reconstruction, and international security presence, while Trump’s relocation and U.S.-control proposal had been rejected by several regional governments.[30] The sources available for this period describe proposals and negotiations, not a settled arrangement for Gaza’s future governance.

The period is distinguished by the contrast between the scale of the scheduled exchanges and the failure to agree on the framework that would follow them. The 42-day arrangement produced repeated releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, a return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, Israeli withdrawals from parts of the Strip, and a significant expansion of reported aid deliveries. At the same time, its implementation was repeatedly disrupted by disputes over release order, handover conditions, the delivery of aid, and the interpretation of the agreement’s next phase.[2][6]

The hostages’ releases also brought the conditions and duration of captivity into public focus. Several people released in February had been held for roughly 490 days, while Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed had been held in Gaza for years.[15][8] The February 20–22 body transfers, including the initial return of an unidentified woman in place of the body Israel expected to be Shiri Bibas, further intensified the dispute over compliance and the treatment of hostages.[22][21]

Israeli public opinion during the final stretch of the ceasefire reflected competing priorities. Tel Aviv University’s Peace Index survey, conducted online from 5 to 10 March while the ceasefire remained in effect, found that 66 percent favored returning the hostages by any means over eliminating Hamas by any means. The reported figures were 54 percent among coalition voters and 87 percent among opposition voters.[41]

The period also included a separate Israeli inquiry into the 7 October 2023 military failures. On 27 February, the Israel Defense Forces released findings from its first internal probe, described as a preliminary fact-finding inquiry conducted over several months by the Southern Command, Operations Division, Israeli Air Force, and Israeli Navy.[31] The inquiry formed part of the wider setting in which the hostage agreement and the future conduct of the war were being debated.

Accounts of the period should be read with attention to differing dates, figures, and claims. Sources disagree on when the first phase formally ended and whether phase-two negotiations had substantively begun; Israeli and Hamas accounts also conflict over compliance, aid deliveries, responsibility for the impasse, and the meaning of proposed extensions.[25][6] In particular, allegations of ceasefire violations and casualty totals attributed to Hamas, as well as Israeli allegations concerning the hostage handovers and aid diversion, are reported as claims by the parties rather than as independently established findings.[25][28]