Israelis and Palestinians yesterday rejoiced after a ceasefire and hostage deal was announced, under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and reshaped the Middle East.
Officials on both sides confirmed they had signed the deal following indirect talks in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the ceasefire would take effect once ratified by the Israeli government, which would convene following a security Cabinet meeting after press time last night.
Photo: AP
Residents in Gaza reported a series of airstrikes on Gaza City around the time it was due to be signed.
Under the deal, the biggest step toward peace yet, fighting would cease, Israel would partially withdraw from Gaza and Hamas would free hostages it captured in the attack that precipitated the war, in exchange for prisoners held by Israel.
A source briefed on details of the agreement said that Israeli troops would begin pulling back within 24 hours of the deal being signed.
Photo: Reuters
The release of all 20 Israeli hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza is expected on Sunday or Monday, an Israeli official said.
Another 26 hostages have been declared dead in absentia and the fate of two is unknown. Hamas has indicated it might take time to recover bodies scattered across Gaza.
Palestinians and the families of Israeli hostages broke into wild celebrations after news emerged of the pact.
Photo: EPA
In Gaza, where most of the more than 2 million people have been displaced by Israeli bombing, young men applauded in the devastated streets, even as Israeli strikes continued.
“Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing,” Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo said in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. “I am not the only one happy; all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed.”
Einav Zaugauker, whose son Matan is one of the last hostages, rejoiced in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, where families of those seized in the Hamas attack that sparked the war two years ago have gathered to demand their return.
Photo: AP
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t explain what I’m feeling... It’s crazy,” she said, speaking in the red glow of a celebratory flare.
“What do I say to him? What do I do? Hug and kiss him,” she said. “Just tell him that I love him, that’s it, and to see his eyes sink into mine... It’s overwhelming — this is the relief.”
Still, Gaza residents said Israeli strikes on three Gaza City suburbs continued overnight and into the morning.
Photo: Reuters
The Gaza health ministry said at least nine Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, a lower toll than typical in the past few weeks as Israel carried out one of its biggest offensives of the war, an all-out assault on Gaza City.
The agreement was reached just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas militants’ cross-border attack that triggered the war, and is the first phase of 20-point framework put forward by Trump.
The deal received a chorus of support from Arab and Western countries and was widely portrayed as a major diplomatic achievement for the US president, who cast it as a first step toward reconciliation in the wider Middle East.
“All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen,” he wrote on social media. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would help monitor implementation of the ceasefire.
However, the agreement still left many issues unresolved, including plans to govern Gaza after the war and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has so far rejected Israel’s demands that it give up its weapons.
Netanyahu called the deal “a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.”
However, far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition have long opposed any deal with Hamas, including Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, who said Hamas must be destroyed once the hostages are returned, adding that he would not vote in favour of the deal, although he stopped short of threatening to bring down the government.
More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led militants stormed through Israeli towns and a music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.
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