Explosions in the Gaza Strip were replaced by sounds of celebration on Sunday as a fragile ceasefire came into force after 470 days of war, allowing some hostages to return to their homes in Israel, freeing Palestinians imprisoned in Israel and allowing displaced Gazans Return home.
Fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants ceased at 11:15 a.m. under the terms of the hard-won deal, opening the door to a more lasting end to a war that has plunged the Middle East into fear and uncertainty. hope.
The first hostages – three women held during a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 – were released shortly after. Early Monday morning, the Israel Prison Service said it had released 90 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel and was greeted excitedly by their families.
At the same time, aid deliveries are increasing – more than 630 trucks a day – entering Gaza.
In the central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah, happy Palestinians honked their car horns and played music while children ran through the streets. Israelis celebrated as hostages began to return, with anxious families anticipating the release of more.
But behind the sigh of relief, people realize that this phase of the ceasefire will only last 42 days, and only some hostages can be released, and if the ceasefire phase is to be extended, there will be huge diplomatic obstacles. Israel and Hamas reached the deal in part by postponing the most intractable dispute to a vague “second phase” that neither side is sure will be reached.
Almost as soon as the bombs stopped falling, masked gunmen and uniformed Hamas police officers emerged from hiding and appeared on the streets of Gaza. The show of force left no doubt that even after Israel’s overwhelming military campaign bent on destroying Hamas, the militant group remains the dominant Palestinian force in Gaza.
As a ceasefire loomed late Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reminded foes and allies alike that the first phase of the agreement was temporary and that Israel could still return to fighting if negotiations on the next phase went smoothly. The ceasefire was broken.
“We reserve the right to return to war with U.S. support if necessary,” said Mr. Netanyahu, whose coalition is deeply divided over the ceasefire. said in a televised speech.
Still, no matter the anxieties of the coming weeks and months, there were moments of joy on Sunday.
One of the freed hostages, Emily Damari, smiled and leaned out of the open window of a van as she was taken to Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv. Ms. Damaria was last released 15 months ago when she was abducted from her home in a kibbutz in southern Israel. She was shot in the hand and taken away by an armed man in his car.
Photos of Ms. Damalia released by the Israeli military on Sunday showed her still smiling but missing two middle fingers on her left hand. The three hostages were later reunited with their relatives, who cried and hugged them tightly after more than a year apart, according to video released by the Israeli government. Their parents, siblings and friends waged an international campaign for their freedom.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas will gradually release 33 hostages in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, including some serving life sentences for brutal attacks on Israelis. Ninety of them – all women and minors – will be released on Sunday.
Friends of three hostages freed on Sunday gathered on a hospital helicopter pad, singing, dancing and waving Israeli flags in the air. Ms Damari’s friend Gal Kubani, 28, said she was “overjoyed” by the news of Ms Damari’s release and “felt proud that Emily had survived this crazy attack” pride”.
In Gaza, celebrations were tempered by sadness. According to Gaza health officials, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Large areas of the enclave were left in ruins, leaving many displaced people homeless.
Shortly after the fighting ceased, waves of displaced Palestinians began moving north, eager to see if their homeland still existed.
Many say that despite the enclave’s devastation, they are determined to begin returning to the life they once knew. “The joy of returning home is overwhelming, but it is also mixed with sadness,” said Ahed al-Okka, a 52-year-old construction worker from Gaza City.
For people like Suhaila Dawaas, grief overshadows any hope for the future. A relative. Most of her home was destroyed, although she hopes to find something in the rubble that will remind her of the life her family once lived.
“I can’t say I’m happy about this truce,” said Ms. Dawas, 55, a mother of eight. “What are we left with after all this? After all the loss, destruction and pain?
Drone footage taken over Gaza showed people fanning out across a wasteland. Gaza’s densely populated neighborhoods have been reduced to thin slabs of concrete and roads have turned to dust. With countless bodies still trapped under the rubble, members of Gaza’s civil emergency services went to work.
Israel says the war began after Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, but about a third are believed to be dead.
Both Israel and Hamas retain some bargaining leverage. Hamas will still hold about two-thirds of its hostages at the end of the first phase of the truce. Israel will still occupy parts of Gaza and hold key prisoners, including militant leader and iconic Palestinian politician Marwan Barghouti.
Jonathan Whittall, director of the U.N. humanitarian office in the Palestinian territories, said U.N. trucks carrying humanitarian supplies began entering Gaza on Sunday just 15 minutes after the ceasefire came into effect. Months of lawlessness and restrictions on humanitarian deliveries have reduced aid to a trickle.
U.N. spokesman Martin Penner said two convoys carrying ready-to-eat food packages and wheat flour arrived in the enclave on Sunday, with one passing through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southeastern Gaza and the other A convoy was at a crossing point in the north’ WFP. The ceasefire agreement calls for 600 trucks to be allowed to deliver aid to Gazans per day, but it is unclear how the supplies will be distributed.
The ceasefire has created deep rifts within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
On Sunday, far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gver resigned in protest against the cabinet and withdrew his Jewish Power party from the coalition. Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist party said it could do the same unless Mr Netanyahu continued the war after an initial truce. Mr Nyahu’s government will have less than half the seats in parliament.
Teams of diplomats representing President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald J. Trump were instrumental in brokering the ceasefire, which both men took credit for on Biden’s penultimate day in office.
Speaking in South Carolina, Biden defended his unwavering support for Israel, defying suggestions by some that it could drag the United States into a broader war. “Abandoning my route will not lead to the ceasefire we saw today,” he said.
Report contributors: Adam Rasgon, Nathan Odenheimer, Everat Livni, Jonathan Rice, Gabby Sobelman, Myra Novick, Ye Weiwei, Fatima Abdul Karim and solemn.
