Celebrations erupt over Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza

TEL AVIV — After two years of devastating war that left tens of thousands dead, millions displaced and much of Gaza transformed into an apocalyptic moonscape, Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a deal involving the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Although Israel still has not officially ratified the agreement, it was expected to do so on Thursday evening and celebrations had already begun in the country. The news was greeted with relief and joy in Gaza, where Hamas said the agreement would end the war and lead to a complete Israeli withdrawal from the area and the entry of desperately needed aid.

The agreement ends months of torturous ceasefire negotiations and puts an end to a generations-long fight in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Posting on the social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday, President Trump announced that the two sides signed the “First Phase of our Peace Plan”; this would include a hostage-prisoner exchange as well as the withdrawal of the Israeli military from parts of Gaza, which, according to Trump, are “the first steps towards a Strong, Lasting and Everlasting Peace.”

“How happy are those who make peace,” he wrote.

News of the agreement triggered celebrations across Gaza; Residents are exhausted by Israel’s rampant attacks that have disrupted their lives, destroyed entire families, and brought famine to the region, they express cautious hope.

“I never thought I would see this day. We’ve been wanting it to come for months, but then suddenly it happened so fast,” said Ali al-Azab, 34, from the regional central city of Deir Al-Balah.

“We have been living in fear for a long time, waiting for the next bomb to come, waiting for us to lose another friend. But I also know that the war is not over yet.”

News of the ceasefire came from Gaza early Thursday morning, while 62-year-old Mohammed Rajab was still asleep. He said his son-in-law was the first to hear the good news.

“We’re like drowning people clutching at straws,” he said, adding that the ceasefire meant for him the chance “to return to a normal life.”

The mood was jubilant Thursday in Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostage Square, the coastal city that has become the de facto rallying point for large-scale Israeli protests to end the war and bring the hostages home; people were dancing and waving Israeli and American flags.

Many people had stickers placed on their shirts that read “They’re coming back” in reference to the hostages, replacing previous stickers that showed the number of days the hostages had spent in captivity. At one point, a man blew a shofar, the traditional musical horn used in Jewish rituals, to applause from the crowd.

Udi Goren, 44, a travel photographer whose cousin Tal Haimi, who was killed on October 7, 2023, was taken to Gaza, said his “first instinct was to breathe a sigh of relief.”

“On the first morning in two years, we can actually smile for real because we finally see the end: the end of the war, the dead soldiers, the tortured and starved hostages, the terrible scenes from Gaza.”

He credited Trump with pressuring the warring parties to get the deal done.

“There was no real intervention until we saw President Trump say enough is enough,” he said.

The agreement, which is a framework focusing more on the 20-point plan Trump announced last week, will ensure the release of all 48 hostages, 20 of whom are alive and the rest are not. Hamas officials said in recent interviews that it would take time to retrieve the bodies of dead hostages because many are in collapsed, bombed tunnels or under rubble. Those alive could be released as early as Sunday or Monday.

Israel will release 1,700 Gazans detained during the war, as well as 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel. Israel will release the bodies of 15 Gazans for every Israeli body returned.

Hamas said on Thursday it had handed over the list of prisoners to be released to mediators and would announce it once the names were agreed upon.

Earlier reports claimed a ceasefire had already begun, but as Israeli airstrikes and artillery continued to pound the area on Thursday, health officials in the region said at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured.

Footage taken by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera shows tanks bombing Gaza’s main coastal road to prevent Palestinians from gathering in the area. Civil defense teams warned people trying to return to the north of the area when they received confirmation that Israeli forces had left the area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement to the Israeli newspaper Times of Israel that the ceasefire will begin on Thursday evening after the government officially approves the agreement. According to Israeli media, the government will vote on the agreement at 18:00 local time.

The Israeli army said in a statement that it had “begun operational preparations ahead of the implementation of the agreement” and that it would adjust its deployment lines “soon”. Meanwhile, it was stated that he was still “deployed in the area” and the army’s Arabic-speaking spokesman said in a statement that Gaza City was still surrounded by the army and it was dangerous to return there.

The ceasefire will also be accompanied by a wave of aid to the region, a key component of the agreement aimed at easing a months-long crushing Israeli blockade that has triggered famine in parts of the region, aid groups and experts say. Aid groups and the Palestinian Ministry of Health said more than 400 people had died of starvation in recent months.

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“But we need to act NOW; there is no time to waste,” he wrote.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel and kidnapped some 250 people, leaving behind 1,200 people, two-thirds of whom were civilians, according to Israeli officials.

In retaliation, Israel launched a furious response that has so far killed 67,183 people, more than 3% of the region’s population, including 20,179 children, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Although it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, its figures are considered reliable.

However, many things remain unclear, including the fate of Hamas’s arsenal and what kind of presence Israel will maintain in the region.

Speaking to Qatari channel Al-Araby TV, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that Israel will withdraw militarily from all populated areas in Gaza, including Khan Younis, Rafah and Gaza City, by Friday. Another spokesman, Hazem Kasim, said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday that the group would not be part of the Gaza administration in the future. but the group’s weapons were supposed to “guarantee the independence of Palestine’s decision-making mechanism.”

Other Hamas officials said the arms delivery would only take place as part of the movement towards an independent Palestinian state.

Despite Trump’s rhetoric, the agreement is far from the comprehensive peace agreement he promised. And the success raises thornier questions for Netanyahu, a widely unpopular leader among many Israelis who his critics accuse of prolonging the war to ensure his political survival at the expense of the lives of the hostages.

Implementing the agreement is likely to alienate his right-wing allies in the government, including extremist figures such as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has called for the evacuation of Gaza from Palestinians. In his statement about X, he said that he would vote against the agreement.

Referring to the Oslo peace process, he added that the government “has an enormous obligation to ensure that we do not return to the Oslo road”, meaning “we become addicted again to artificial calm, diplomatic embraces and smiling ceremonies while mortgaging the future and paying terrible prices”.

Israelis showed their anger at Hostage Square against Netanyahu and others associated with his leadership during the war. As Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz, who served in Netanyahu’s cabinet until last year, walked through the crowd, scammers shouted at him to “go home” and accused him of claiming an accomplishment he didn’t earn.

“When the war started, Gantz joined Bibi and saved him instead of overthrowing his government,” said Einat Mastbaum, a 50-year-old Hebrew teacher who uses Netanyahu’s pseudonym.

According to Mastbaum, who has been coming to Hostage Square every week for the last two years, even the presence of politicians could not overshadow the happiness of the crowd.

“I’m so excited,” she said, her voice cracking as tears appeared in her eyes.

“Today I am crying not from sadness, but from happiness and hope.”