DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and Hamas moved forward on a key first step of the tenuous Gaza ceasefire agreement on Monday by releasing hostages and prisoners, elevating hopes that the U.S.-brokered deal would possibly result in a everlasting finish to the two-year conflict that ravaged the Palestinian territory.
However thornier points similar to whether or not Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza — and the query of Palestinian statehood — stay unresolved, highlighting the fragility of an settlement that for now solely pauses the deadliest battle within the historical past of Israel and the Palestinians.
For Israelis, the discharge of the 20 remaining residing hostages brought elation and a way of closure to a conflict many felt they had been compelled into by Hamas, though many pledged to combat on for the return of deceased hostages nonetheless in Gaza. However with the living hostages freed, the urgency with which many had been pushed to name for an finish to the conflict will possible diminish, easing strain on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance the subsequent phases of the settlement.
4 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel on Monday, and one other 24 are imagined to be turned over as a part of the primary part of the ceasefire, which additionally requires Israel to permit a surge of meals and different humanitarian support into Gaza.
Whereas there was an outburst of pleasure in Gaza for prisoners returning from Israel and hope that the preventing could wind down for good, the torment drags on for war-weary Palestinians. Gaza has been decimated by Israeli bombardment; there’s little left of its prewar financial system, primary providers are in disarray and lots of properties have been destroyed.
Israel says the deal achieves its conflict goals
U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to the region to have a good time the deal. In an handle to Israel’s parliament, he urged lawmakers to grab an opportunity for broader peace within the area. In Egypt, he and different world leaders gathered to set the trickier components of the deal into movement.
Netanyahu, who based on his workplace didn’t be a part of the assembly in Egypt due to a Jewish vacation, advised parliament that he was dedicated to the settlement, saying it “ends the conflict by reaching all our goals.” Israel had stated it could not finish the war till all of the hostages had been freed and Hamas was defeated. Critics accused Netanyahu of permitting the conflict to pull on for political causes, which he denied.
The conflict started with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault, when militants killed 1,200 individuals and took 251 captives. Israel’s retaliatory marketing campaign killed greater than 67,000 individuals, based on Gaza’s Well being Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians in its depend. The ministry is a part of the Hamas-run authorities. Its figures are seen as a dependable estimate by the U.N. and lots of impartial consultants.
The conflict has rippled throughout the Center East, with battle erupting between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen and Iran itself.
Israel is elated by the return of the residing hostages
Israelis watched with jubilation in public screenings because the 20 residing hostages, all male, reunited with their households. Crowds broke into cheers, as tears of pleasure streamed down relieved faces.
“You might be alive! Two arms and two legs,” stated Zvika Mor, upon seeing his son Eitan for the primary time in two years.
When Bar Kupershtein was reunited along with his household, his father, Tal, who makes use of a wheelchair after a automobile accident and stroke, fulfilled a promise to himself by standing up for a couple of minutes to embrace his freed son.
Not like earlier releases, Hamas held no ceremonies for the captives earlier than releasing them. As a substitute, households acquired video calls from masked militants who allowed them a primary glimpse at their family members earlier than they got here house.
The plight of the hostages had widespread assist in Israel, the place hundreds would be a part of the households for weekly protests demanding Israel safe their launch.
The destiny of the hostages was a central driver of a motion in Israel to finish the conflict. Many Israelis seen Netanyahu’s twin targets of releasing the captives and defeating Hamas as incompatible.
Israeli Protection Minister Israel Katz stated any delay by Hamas in retuning the remaining our bodies of deceased hostages could be seen as a violation of the ceasefire deal.
Israel frees some 1,900 Palestinian prisoners
Massive crowds greeted freed prisoners in Beitunia within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution and in Khan Younis in Gaza. The prisoners flashed V-for-victory indicators as they descended from buses that took them both to the West Financial institution, Gaza or into exile.
“Reward be to God, our Lord, who has honored us with this launch and this pleasure,” stated Mahmoud Fayez, who was returned to Gaza after being detained early final 12 months in an Israeli raid on the primary Shifa Hospital.
The prisoners embody 250 individuals serving life sentences for convictions in assaults on Israelis, along with 1,700 seized from Gaza in the course of the conflict and held with out cost.
The destiny of the prisoners is a delicate problem in Palestinian society, the place nearly everybody is aware of or is said to somebody who has been imprisoned by Israel. They’re seen by Palestinians as freedom fighters.
Chip Somodevilla by way of Getty Photos
Trump celebrates the deal in Israel and Egypt
In his Knesset speech, Trump advised Israeli lawmakers their nation should now work towards peace.
“Israel, with our assist, has received all that they’ll by drive of arms,” Trump stated. “Now it’s time to translate these victories towards terrorists on the battlefield into the final word prize of peace and prosperity for all the Center East.”
His speech was briefly interrupted when two Knesset members staged a protest and had been subsequently faraway from the chamber. One held up a small signal studying, “Acknowledge Palestine.”
In Egypt, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Trump attended a summit with leaders from greater than 20 nations on the way forward for Gaza and the broader Center East. Palestinian chief Mahmoud Abbas, who administers components of the West Financial institution, additionally attended.
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu by way of Getty Photos
Regardless of Trump’s optimism, many thorny points stay
Among the many most tough points left to resolve is Israel’s insistence that a weakened Hamas disarm. Hamas refuses to do this and needs to make sure Israel pulls its troops utterly out of Gaza.
To date, the Israeli army has withdrawn from a lot of Gaza Metropolis, the southern metropolis of Khan Younis and different areas. Troops stay in a lot of the southern metropolis of Rafah, cities of Gaza’s far north, and the huge strip alongside the size of Gaza’s border with Israel.
The long run governance of Gaza additionally stays unclear. Underneath the U.S. plan, a world physique will govern the territory, overseeing Palestinian technocrats working day-to-day affairs. Hamas has stated Gaza’s authorities ought to be labored out amongst Palestinians.
The plan envisions an eventual function for Abbas’ Palestinian Authority — one thing Netanyahu has lengthy opposed — however it requires the authority to bear reforms that would take years.
The plan requires an Arab-led worldwide safety drive in Gaza, together with Palestinian police. Israeli forces would go away areas as these forces deploy. About 200 U.S. troops are in Israel to watch the ceasefire.
The plan additionally mentions the potential for a future Palestinian state, one other nonstarter for Netanyahu.
This story has been up to date to right that cheering crowds greeted prisoners in Beitunia, not Ramallah.
Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Jerusalem. Related Press writers Josef Federman in Truro, Massachusetts; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Jalal Bwaitel and Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Financial institution; Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.
Comply with AP’s conflict protection at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
