Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the devastating war in Gaza, which unleashed the deadliest conflict in history between Israelis and Palestinians.
After two years of bloodshed, the vast majority in Israel and the Palestinian territories are celebrating the end of the brutal conflict. Some people stayed up late into the night awaiting the ceasefire announcement, which came around 2 a.m. Others woke up to the news on a rainy morning. The deal has brought relief, hope, joy, and celebrations on both sides after two years of agony.
However, for some, the pain of the war is still raw.
A man in Gaza, Abu Ahmed Eid, told NPR: “Why exactly should I be happy with all the blood spilled and all these martyrs?”
Eid said that, like most Gaza residents, he is living in a tent with his children. He said he lost 150 family members in Israeli attacks.
In Israel, Rotem Cooper said his father was a hostage who died in captivity. He is now awaiting the return of his father’s body. Cooper believes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu undermined previous negotiations that could have ended the war earlier and perhaps led to his father’s return while he was still alive. Cooper gave credit to President Trump for making the deal happen.
“It’s President Trump,” he said. “It didn’t happen because of something the Israeli government or the prime minister did. It happened despite what the prime minister did.”
As Israel and Hamas do not speak to each other, indirect negotiations were mediated by President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.
The parties held negotiations throughout the day on Wednesday, which extended into the early hours of Thursday, at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea.
Israel’s Cabinet planned to vote on the ceasefire deal on Thursday night. The expectation is that the deal will be approved, which would bring an immediate end to the shootings in Gaza. And already this weekend, Hamas could begin releasing the last 48 hostages. It is believed that 20 are still alive. They are all men, many of them Israeli soldiers in their 20s.
Hamas indicated that it may not be able to locate some of the dead hostages immediately. The Israeli official in charge of hostages, Gal Hirsch, said an international team will be formed to locate the bodies of the missing hostages in the coming days.
In turn, Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Among them are Palestinians convicted of murder and other serious crimes, as well as those detained without formal charges during the war.
President Trump announced the deal on Truth Social on Wednesday night.
“This means that ALL hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed line as the first steps toward a strong, lasting, and enduring peace. All parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all neighboring 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 possible. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
Several hours earlier, Trump told reporters at the White House that he was prepared to travel to the Middle East this weekend.
Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump by phone, describing it as “a very moving and warm conversation.” Netanyahu also invited Trump to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
As highlighted by Trump last week, the main elements of the deal require Hamas to disarm and renounce a future role in governing Gaza, the small coastal territory devastated by the fighting. However, Hamas has not stated that it will do so.
Israel will be required to withdraw some of its troops from cities and other areas in the interior of Gaza but will maintain a military presence in the territory for now. Israeli forces will pull back to a buffer zone on Gaza’s borders as the ceasefire solidifies and peace takes hold.
However, the precise details and overall timeline of these essential provisions were not immediately clear.
For now, the focus is on the initial measures required of both sides.
According to a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Israel must begin the initial troop withdrawal 24 hours after the Israeli Cabinet approves the ceasefire. Hamas will then have 72 hours to release the hostages. “Our assessment is that the hostages will begin to be released on Monday,” the White House official said.
The deal marks a major breakthrough after multiple failed attempts — and two previous ceasefires that collapsed. A truce signed in January this year failed in March, when Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza. A ceasefire in the early days of the war, in November 2023, lasted only a week before collapsing.
The broad international effort has garnered wide support for the latest ceasefire and raised hopes that it will be lasting.
However, the ceasefire deal will be implemented in several phases over the coming weeks and months, with no guarantee of success.
In a statement, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi made it clear that the group did not believe it had lost the war.
“The ceasefire deal is not a favor from anyone, but rather the fruit of our people’s legendary steadfastness,” he said. “Gaza — the graveyard of invaders — emerged victorious through its steadfastness and unity, imposing its will on the arrogant enemy.”
In Israel, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s cabinet, Bezalel Smotrich, said he would not support the deal.
He wrote on X that he felt “immense joy at the return of all our kidnapped brothers!”
But he also said he felt “great fear of the consequences of emptying the prisons and releasing the next generation of terrorist leaders, who will do everything to continue spilling rivers of Jewish blood, God forbid. For that reason alone, we cannot join the myopic celebrations and vote for the deal.”
The war began with a surprise Hamas attack on southern Israel in the early hours of October 7, 2023. Nearly 1,200 people were killed, most of them Israeli civilians, including many who were attending a weekend music festival. This was the worst single-day attack against Israel since the country’s founding in 1948.
Israel unleashed a fierce response that cost the lives of more than 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Israel’s sustained bombing campaign and relentless ground offensives destroyed most homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses in Gaza. Israel restricted aid to Gaza throughout the conflict, leading to a desperate shortage of food and medicine.
Gaza’s population of more than 2 million was repeatedly displaced during the war, with most residents now crammed into camps in the southern part of the territory, near the Egyptian border.
The end of the fighting should lead to a rapid increase in the supply of food and other basic necessities.
But rebuilding homes, roads, water systems, and electricity will be a project that will take many years.
And while the end of the war may be near, there is no clear roadmap for resolving the issue of Palestinian political rights.
The plan calls for Hamas to step down after nearly two decades of ruling Gaza. It calls for “qualified Palestinians and international experts” to form a transitional government committee. In addition, an international “Peace Council,” chaired by Trump, would oversee the committee and supervise Gaza’s reconstruction.
On the crucial issue of a Palestinian state, the plan offers a vague call for a “credible path to Palestinian self-determination and sovereignty,” but provides no details.
Israel, in turn, emerged from the war in a much stronger security position after decimating Hamas in Gaza, striking Hezbollah in Lebanon, and destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities.
However, Israel has been internationally isolated for the way it conducted the war in Gaza, causing so many civilian casualties, restricting humanitarian aid, and damaging much of the territory’s infrastructure.
Daniel Estrin, Carrie Kahn, and Itay Stern of NPR contributed from Tel Aviv. Aya Batrawy contributed from Dubai and Anas Baba from Gaza.
Source: npr.org by Greg Myre