Hi there, everyone.

It's 4 o'clock in New York.

We start with the extraordinary news breaking out of the Middle East this afternoon.

After 15 months of fighting in Gaza and well beyond,

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal.

It will put an end to the fighting and free

dozens of hostages held in Gaza, including Americans, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

This deal will bring the first real break in violence since a week-long truce that expired more than a year ago.

It comes after weeks of talks

brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, and amid profound devastation and a humanitarian

crisis in Gaza, where more than 46,000 people have died. An unimaginable worry and constant

waiting and despair for the families of 60 surviving hostages

kidnapped by Hamas after the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.

Their families saying this morning, quote,

In light of reports about an imminent agreement, we welcome and deeply appreciate the return of every hostage, each one representing hope and relief,

not only for their immediate family, but for our entire community.

We urgently call for a framework that ensures the return of every person held captive.

The three-phase deal follows the same structure that President Joe Biden first

proposed back in May. He spoke this afternoon from the White House.

The elements of this deal were what I laid out in detail this past May, which was embraced by

countries around the world and endorsed overwhelmingly by

the UN Security Council. You know, there was no other way for this war to end than with a hostage

...