Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire agreement to bring some of the remaining hostages home and halt the bloodshed after 15 months of conflict.

The deal, mediated by the United States, offered a glimmer of hope in a conflict that has taken an immense human toll.

The deal, coming after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return.