🎬Reconciliation

CURRENCIES

INTERNATIONAL
Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire after weeks of indirect negotiations brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.

The three-phase agreement announced on Wednesday in Qatar starts with a ceasefire and intends to eventually achieve a lasting truce. However, the Israeli cabinet's vote on the deal has been delayed after PM Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement, which Hamas denies.

If approved, the deal’s six-week first phase is expected to begin on Sunday:

• Hamas is to start releasing 33 of the over 100 (living and presumed dead) Israeli hostages still held in the enclave, prioritizing Americans, women, children, and civilians older than fifty. In return, Israel has to release 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.

• Gazan civilians are to be allowed to move between the Northern and Southern parts of the enclave, enabling them to return to their homes. Israel is to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and its troops are to withdraw into a 1-kilometer buffer zone in the Northern part of the territory.

Sixteen days in, Israel and Hamas are meant to start negotiating the subsequent phases of the deal aimed at ending the war permanently. The second phase is designed to include the release of the remaining living hostages and Israeli forces leaving Gaza entirely, while the third would involve an exchange of bodies of deceased hostages and prisoners and the beginning of efforts to rebuild Gaza.

Ending 15 months of bloodshed

Fighting has been ongoing since Hamas militants attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 civilians and soldiers, and taking 250 Israelis hostage. Over 100 hostages have since been freed, and dozens are believed to have died in captivity.

Israel responded by unleashing a destructive military campaign in Gaza that displaced 90% of the area’s population and killed over 46,600 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties, but says that most of the dead are women, children, or the elderly.

For the historic record…the diplomatic breakthrough culminates months of ceasefire efforts by the Biden Administration, and more recently, the incoming Trump team. President-elect Donald Trump warned Hamas that “all hell will break out” if Israeli hostages weren’t freed before he takes office, while reportedly aggressively pushing Israel to shake on a deal behind the scenes. Both presidents claimed credit for the deal.—OA.

DIGITS
Egg-flation

$250: Price of a single egg. And yes, the dollar sign on there is correct.

But rest assured, while we can’t tell you how much egg prices will fluctuate in 2025, this one is an outlier.
For starters, it’s an unusual shape — spherical, not oval. It was discovered in a Scottish grocery store, then purchased at auction for ~$187 by a British man who had admittedly had a few drinks. He donated it to an auction supporting the Iuventas Foundation, a youth charity, where it sold for ~$250.

SHOWER THOUGHTS

NEWS
Round the continent

• Mohamed Salah, has reportedly been offered close to $80 million to tempt him to leave Liverpool for two seasons in Saudia Arabia.

• Tanzania is walking back on initial reports of a Marburg fever disease outbreak. WHO said earlier that 8 out of the 9 flagged cases had died.

• Amazon, has opened its first walk-in store in Africa. The structure, in the heart of Cape Town, is intended to give it a competitive edge against local rival, Takealot.

• The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accusing him of choosing war over negotiations to bring an end to the conflict in Sudan.