The Guardian view on a ceasefire in Gaza: far too late, but desperately needed | Editorial

As officials report that a deal has been agreed, a precarious pause in hostilities and the release of hostages could only be welcomed

Hope has rarely felt so fragile, or so inadequate. A moment long sought and prayed for will nonetheless be met with fear and apprehension as well as joy by Palestinians in the wasteland that is Gaza and among the traumatised families of Israeli hostages.

After more than 15 months of war, which has left tensof thousands dead and almost 2 million strugglingto survive, the US and Qatar announced that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal has been reached. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said there were still unresolved clauses", though his cabinet was expected to vote on it on Thursday morning. They should back it. The broad outlines of this agreement have long been clear. The cost of the delay is unbearable. Since it was first mooted, thousands more Palestinians and an unknown number of Israeli hostages taken in the Hamas raids of7October 2023 have been killed. Last week, researchin the Lancet medical journal suggested that the death toll recorded by Gazan health officials was 40% too low, with an estimated 64,260 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces by last June.