The sounds of explosions in the Gaza Strip were replaced by sounds of celebration on Sunday as a fragile cease-fire took effect after 470 days of war, allowing some hostages to return home to Israel, the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel and displaced Gazans. search for what's left of their home.
Under the terms of a hard-won deal, fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas militants ceased at 11:15 a.m., raising hopes for a longer-term end to a war that has plunged the Middle East into fear and uncertainty.
The first hostages—three women captured during a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023—were released soon after, and aid deliveries accelerated by de-escalation began to flow in the opposite direction, past border crossings. Early on Monday morning, the Israelis announced that they had released 90 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
In the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, jubilant Palestinians honked car horns and played music as children ran through the streets. The Israelis also noted that they expect the hostages to begin returning, and that more distressed families will be freed.
However, this relief was based on the knowledge that this phase of the ceasefire would last only 42 days and that there would be major diplomatic hurdles ahead if only some of the hostages were released and extended. Israel and Hamas have reached a partial agreement by postponing their most intractable dispute until a nebulous “phase two” that neither side is sure will reach.
Almost as soon as the bombs stopped falling, masked gunmen and uniformed Hamas police came out of hiding and appeared on the streets of Gaza. The show of force demonstrated that the militant group remains the dominant Palestinian force in Gaza, even after a major Israeli military campaign aimed at destroying Hamas.
On Saturday night, as a cease-fire neared, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reminded enemies and allies alike that the first phase of the deal was temporary and that Israel could still return to fighting if the next round of talks is negotiated. the ceasefire was broken.
Mr Netanyahu, whose coalition has been sharply divided by the ceasefire, said: “We reserve the right to go back to war, if necessary, with the support of the United States.” said in a televised address.
Still, there were moments of joy on Sunday, no matter how worrisome the weeks and months to come.
Emily Damari, one of the freed hostages, can be seen leaning out of the van's open window, smiling as it is taken to Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv. Ms. Damari was last released 15 months ago, when she was abducted from her home on a kibbutz in southern Israel. He was shot in the hand and driven away in his private car with a fighter behind the wheel.
A photo of Ms. Damari, released by the Israeli military on Sunday, shows her still smiling despite missing two middle fingers on her left hand. According to footage released by the Israeli government, all three hostages were later reunited with relatives who wept and hugged them after being separated for more than a year. Their parents, siblings and friends joined the international campaign for their freedom.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas must gradually release 33 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, including some serving life sentences for brutal attacks on Israelis. 90 of them – all women and minors – were to be released on Sunday.
Friends of the three hostages freed on Sunday danced, sang and waved Israeli flags as they gathered at the hospital's helipad. Gal Kubani, 28, a friend of Ms Damari's, said he was “overjoyed” at the news of her release and “proud Emily survived this madness”.
In Gaza, the holiday passed with sadness. According to Gazan health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, more than 46,000 Palestinians have died during Israel's military campaign. Large areas of the enclave are in ruins, and many displaced people have no homes to return to.
Soon after the fighting stopped, waves of displaced Palestinians began heading north, anxious to see if any part of their homes was still standing.
Many people said they were determined to start rebuilding the lives they once knew despite the massive destruction in the enclave. “The joy of coming home is overwhelming, but mixed with sadness,” said Ahed al-Okka, 52, a construction worker from Gaza City.
For others, such as Suhaila Dawaas, a displaced Gazan who said she lost eight relatives in the war, grief overshadowed hopes for the future. Her home was largely destroyed, though she hoped to find a few reminders of the life her family once lived in the rubble.
“I can't say I'm happy about this ceasefire,” said Ms Dawaas, a 55-year-old mother of eight. “After all, what are we left with?” After endless losses, destruction, pain?”
Drone footage over Gaza shows people walking out into the desert. The dense neighborhoods of Gaza were turned into pancake concrete slabs, the roads turned to dust. With so many bodies still lying under the rubble, members of the Gaza Civil Emergency Service went to work.
The war began after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. About 100 hostages are still in Gaza, about a third are believed to be dead.
Israel and Hamas both kept part of their bargain. At the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas will still hold about two-thirds of the hostages. Israel will still occupy parts of Gaza and hold key prisoners, including militant leader and prominent Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti.
According to Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN humanitarian office for the Palestinian territories, UN humanitarian trucks began entering Gaza on Sunday just 15 minutes after the ceasefire took effect. There have been months of lawlessness and restrictions on humanitarian deliveries reduces aid to one drop.
Two caravans carrying packages of ready-to-eat food and wheat flour arrived in the enclave on Sunday. Kerem Shalom one in southeastern Gaza and another in the northern crossing, according to Martin Penner, a spokesman for the United Nations World Food Program. The cease-fire agreement calls for 600 trucks of aid to be allowed into Gaza each day, though it is unclear how the supplies will be distributed.
The mood was tense in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as families and friends awaited the release of the first of 90 Palestinian prisoners from Israel's Ofer prison. Some in the crowd wondered if the releases would actually happen.
“People are very tired and their feelings are mixed with sadness for Gaza,” said Zuhair Yousef, a taxi driver. “That's why we wait until the last minute.”
The ceasefire has already opened deep cracks in Prime Minister Netanyahu's ruling coalition.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, resigned from the cabinet in protest on Sunday and pulled the Jewish Power party he leads from the coalition. The Religious Zionist party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, suggested that Mr. Netanyahu might do the same if he did not continue the war after the initial ceasefire. If it does, Mr. Netanyahu's government will have less than half the seats in the Knesset. Israel's parliament could eventually topple the government and force new elections.
Teams of diplomats representing both President Biden and President-elect Donald J. Trump played a major role in brokering the truce, and both men committed to it on Mr. Biden's last day in office.
In a speech in South Carolina, Mr. Biden defended his unwavering support for Israel, on the advice of some who warned that Israel could drag the United States into a wider war. “Abandoning the course I took would not have led us to the ceasefire we see today,” he said.
Participated in the report Adam Rasgon, Nathan Odenheimer, Efrat Livni, Jonathan Reiss, Gabby Sobelman, Myra Noveck, Vivian Yee, Fatima Abdul Karim and Yan Zhuang.