Thursday, January 16

Today is our second anniversary of writing daily updates! Two years ago, on January 16, 2023, we began writing the daily updates you read today!

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal that will secure the release of dozens of hostages while providing relief to the millions of displaced Palestinians within Gaza.

The talks are taking place in Qatar's capital of Doha, where Egypt and Qatar are acting as mediators. On one side, Qatar is pressuring Hamas to agree to a deal while the United States is pressuring Israel to agree to the deal on the other side.

Earlier this week, Israel and Hamas seemed to be getting close to a deal, but there have been several instances of possible deals that were denied at the last moment by either side. There was also quite a bit of doubt over the details of the deal, which had not been worked out.

The three-phase deal is expected to begin on Sunday, with the first phase taking effect. The first phase contains a 42-day ceasefire and will secure the release of 33 hostages from Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel will release hundreds of their prisoners and withdraw their forces from the strip. The deal will also secure the return of the bodies of those killed during the war, Details on the second and third phases have not been released yet, as those phases will be negotiated during the first phase.

The deal would also allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been celebrated by many countries and organizations around the world. The United States has stated that they aim to be sending up to 500 trucks of aid into Gaza each day, and UNRWA has called on both Israel and Hamas to stay peaceful during the ceasefire and allow easy access for aid. UNICEF has also confirmed that they will be sending in aid in the form of vaccines to prevent disease among young children.

Numerous countries, including Russia, China, Indonesia, and Japan have all welcomed the deal, confirming the world's approval of a ceasefire deal between two sides that have been fighting intensely for over 15 months.

However, the deal still faces several hurdles before it goes into effect. Israel's security cabinet still needs to vote on the agreement, but that vote has been temporarily delayed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he claimed that Hamas had gone back on parts of the deal. Hamas, though, has maintained that they are fully committed to the ceasefire agreement. After the security cabinet, the deal will also need to be passed by Israel's government, posing another obstacle.

While the ceasefire is coming closer, there is still a long way to go to achieve complete peace in the region. Negotiations over the second and third parts of the deal will begin on the 16th day of the first phase, and the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have all pledged to make sure that those three phases are completed. The deal is still extremely frail, though, and any rash action by either side could cause the entire agreement to crumble.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The United Nations has 193 member countries, but they only have six official languages. When the organization was first created, there were five official languages -- English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian -- but Arabic was added in 1974 due to popular request.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot. (John Bunyan)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Hackneyed (adj, HAK-need) - Something is considered hackneyed when it is not interesting, funny, etc., because of being used too often; in other words, it's neither fresh nor original.

In a Sentence: The new crime drama's characters are shallow stereotypes who engage one another in hackneyed dialogue.