The agreement stipulates an initial ceasefire for a period of six weeks with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Hostages held by Hamas will be released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
It paves the way for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the majority of the population has been displaced and faces hunger, disease and cold. Rows of aid trucks were lined up in the Egyptian border city of Al-Arish, waiting to cross into Gaza once the border was reopened.
Peace could also have broader benefits across the Middle East, from avoiding war between Israel and Iran to ending the disruption of global trade by Yemen’s Houthi movement that has attacked ships in the Red Sea.
Israel’s acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the security cabinet and the government. The vote was scheduled to take place on Thursday, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed the meeting, accusing Hamas of making last-minute demands.
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Netanyahu’s office said: “The Israeli government will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.”
Hardliners in Netanyahu’s government still hope to stop the deal, although a majority of ministers are expected to support it. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s party said that his condition for remaining in the government is to return to fighting at the end of the first phase of the truce. The far-right Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also threatened to resign.
In Jerusalem, some Israelis walked through the streets carrying fake coffins to protest the ceasefire, blocking roads and clashing with police.
Activists in Jerusalem representing the families of Israelis killed during the war in Gaza carry mock coffins covered with Israeli flags meant to symbolize the price Israel will pay for agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas.credit: AP
Calls for speedy implementation
The Palestinians, who were happy with the announcement of the deal, were desperate for the bombing to stop as quickly as possible.
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“We are losing homes every hour. A citizen of Gaza, Mahmoud Abu Wardeh, said: “We demand that this joy not be lost, the joy that was painted on our faces, so do not waste it by postponing the implementation of the truce until Sunday.”
The day after the truce was announced witnessed some of the heaviest Israeli bombing in months. The Gaza Ministry of Health said that at least 81 people were killed during the past 24 hours and about 188 others were injured. The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said that at least 77 of those had been killed since the ceasefire was announced.
An Israeli army spokesman said that the army is studying these reports.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed towns in the Israeli border region on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and kidnapping more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli statistics.
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If the ceasefire succeeds, it will stop the fighting that has devastated most of Gaza’s densely urban areas, killing more than 46,000 people and displacing most of the enclave’s small pre-war population of 2.3 million, according to Gaza authorities.
The first phase will see the release of 33 hostages out of about 98 hostages still in Gaza – alive and dead. Israel will release about 1,000 Palestinian detainees.
Reuters
