U.S. says Gaza ceasefire, hostage deal will start Sunday; credits months of diplomacy

The Secretary of State said Sunday that implementation of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage agreement is expected to begin on Sunday after more than 15 months of negotiation involving the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

The secretary told reporters the administration "worked to broker a deal that would bring hostages home, that would stop the fighting, that would surge humanitarian aid ... and that would create the space to conclude a permanent ceasefire." He said, "We now have that, and we expect implementation of the agreement to begin on Sunday."

Why it matters: The secretary framed the agreement as the result of sustained U.S. diplomacy. He said President Biden publicly put forward a detailed framework in May that helped isolate Hamas and drew global endorsement, including a UN Security Council backing that, in the secretary's account, changed Hamas's calculus and moved it back to the…