Wednesday, 22 January, 2025
Palestinians flooded the streets in celebration and returned to the ruins of their bombed-out homes on Sunday after a ceasefire brought a temporary halt to the fighting in Gaza. Meanwhile, three female hostages freed by Hamas were tearfully reunited with their mothers inside Israel.
Armed Hamas fighters paraded through the southern city of Khan Younis, greeted by cheering crowds and chants of support. In the north, which bore the brunt of the war’s relentless bombardment, residents navigated narrow pathways through a wasteland of rubble and twisted metal.
“I feel like I’ve finally found water after being lost in the desert for 15 months,” said Aya, a displaced woman from Gaza City who had been seeking refuge in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. With the fighting paused, she shared a sense of profound relief: “I feel alive again.”
In Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis gathered in a square outside the Defense Ministry headquarters, watching a live broadcast from Gaza on a giant screen as the hostage release unfolded. The crowd erupted in cheers, embraced one another, and wept as footage showed three female hostages being escorted into a Red Cross vehicle, surrounded by armed Hamas fighters.
Shortly after, the Israeli military announced that Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari had been reunited with their mothers at a designated meeting point inside Israel. The location was near the kibbutz and music festival where they were abducted during the Hamas raid on October 7, 2023, which marked the start of the war.
Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, buses stood ready to transport Palestinian prisoners set to be released from Israeli detention. According to Hamas, the first group of freed prisoners would include 69 women and 21 teenage boys, as part of the exchange agreement for the hostages.
The first phase of the truce in the 15-month-old war between Israel and Hamas took effect following a three-hour delay during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip.
That last-minute Israeli blitz killed 13 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel blamed Hamas for being late to deliver the names of hostages it would free, and said it had struck terrorists. Hamas said the holdup in providing the list was a technical glitch.
"Today the guns in Gaza have gone silent," US President Joe Biden said on his last full day in office, welcoming a truce that had eluded US diplomacy for more than a year.
"The road to this deal was anything but easy; it was a long and arduous journey," President Biden remarked. "Today's breakthrough was made possible by the pressure Israel exerted on Hamas, with steadfast support from the United States."
The ceasefire agreement stipulates an immediate halt to hostilities, the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the release of 33 out of the 98 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas over the first six-week phase. In return, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from its jails.
For Hamas, the ceasefire offers a chance to reemerge after 15 months of operating in the shadows. Hamas police, clad in blue uniforms, quickly took up positions in certain areas. Crowds gathered to cheer armed fighters, chanting, “Greetings to Al-Qassam Brigades,” a salute to Hamas's military wing.
“All the resistance factions remain steadfast despite [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” one fighter told Reuters. “This is a full and comprehensive ceasefire, God willing, with no return to war.”
The truce follows months of painstaking negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. It comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, having previously warned there would be "hell to pay" if hostages were not freed before his inauguration.
The future governance of Gaza remains uncertain, with no detailed plan in place to rebuild the war-torn territory. Israel has stated it will resume military operations unless Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, is fully dismantled.
The ceasefire has already sparked political turmoil in Israel. Hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned in protest, though his party chose not to collapse Netanyahu’s government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another prominent hardliner, warned he would resign if the war ends without Hamas’s destruction.
Meanwhile, Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, reiterated U.S. support for Israel should Hamas violate the ceasefire. "Hamas will never govern Gaza. That is completely unacceptable," he declared.
In Gaza City’s devastated northern region, people took to the streets waving Palestinian flags and capturing the scenes on their phones. Carts loaded with possessions navigated rubble-strewn roads, reflecting the heavy toll of war.
Ahmed Abu Ayham, a 40-year-old resident sheltering with his family in Khan Younis, expressed mixed feelings. "This ceasefire may save lives, but the pain is immeasurable. It’s a time for mourning, not celebration,” he said.
As the truce took effect, long lines of trucks carrying fuel and essential supplies queued at border crossings. The agreement mandates 600 truckloads of aid to enter Gaza daily, including 50 fuel trucks. Half of the aid is destined for the famine-threatened northern region.
The conflict, which began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israeli towns, has claimed more than 1,200 Israeli lives, with over 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, reducing Gaza to rubble, with nearly 2.3 million residents displaced. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also perished in the fighting.
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Palestinians flooded the streets in celebration and returned to the ruins of their bombed-out homes on Sunday after a ceasefire brought a temporary halt to the fighting in Gaza. Meanwhile, three female hostages freed by Hamas were tearfully reunited with their mothers inside Israel.
Armed Hamas fighters paraded through the southern city of Khan Younis, greeted by cheering crowds and chants of support. In the north, which bore the brunt of the war’s relentless bombardment, residents navigated narrow pathways through a wasteland of rubble and twisted metal.
“I feel like I’ve finally found water after being lost in the desert for 15 months,” said Aya, a displaced woman from Gaza City who had been seeking refuge in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. With the fighting paused, she shared a sense of profound relief: “I feel alive again.”
In Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis gathered in a square outside the Defense Ministry headquarters, watching a live broadcast from Gaza on a giant screen as the hostage release unfolded. The crowd erupted in cheers, embraced one another, and wept as footage showed three female hostages being escorted into a Red Cross vehicle, surrounded by armed Hamas fighters.
Shortly after, the Israeli military announced that Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari had been reunited with their mothers at a designated meeting point inside Israel. The location was near the kibbutz and music festival where they were abducted during the Hamas raid on October 7, 2023, which marked the start of the war.
Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, buses stood ready to transport Palestinian prisoners set to be released from Israeli detention. According to Hamas, the first group of freed prisoners would include 69 women and 21 teenage boys, as part of the exchange agreement for the hostages.
The first phase of the truce in the 15-month-old war between Israel and Hamas took effect following a three-hour delay during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip.
That last-minute Israeli blitz killed 13 people, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel blamed Hamas for being late to deliver the names of hostages it would free, and said it had struck terrorists. Hamas said the holdup in providing the list was a technical glitch.
"Today the guns in Gaza have gone silent," US President Joe Biden said on his last full day in office, welcoming a truce that had eluded US diplomacy for more than a year.
"The road to this deal was anything but easy; it was a long and arduous journey," President Biden remarked. "Today's breakthrough was made possible by the pressure Israel exerted on Hamas, with steadfast support from the United States."
The ceasefire agreement stipulates an immediate halt to hostilities, the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the release of 33 out of the 98 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas over the first six-week phase. In return, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from its jails.
For Hamas, the ceasefire offers a chance to reemerge after 15 months of operating in the shadows. Hamas police, clad in blue uniforms, quickly took up positions in certain areas. Crowds gathered to cheer armed fighters, chanting, “Greetings to Al-Qassam Brigades,” a salute to Hamas's military wing.
“All the resistance factions remain steadfast despite [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” one fighter told Reuters. “This is a full and comprehensive ceasefire, God willing, with no return to war.”
The truce follows months of painstaking negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. It comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, having previously warned there would be "hell to pay" if hostages were not freed before his inauguration.
The future governance of Gaza remains uncertain, with no detailed plan in place to rebuild the war-torn territory. Israel has stated it will resume military operations unless Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, is fully dismantled.
The ceasefire has already sparked political turmoil in Israel. Hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned in protest, though his party chose not to collapse Netanyahu’s government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another prominent hardliner, warned he would resign if the war ends without Hamas’s destruction.
Meanwhile, Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz, reiterated U.S. support for Israel should Hamas violate the ceasefire. "Hamas will never govern Gaza. That is completely unacceptable," he declared.
In Gaza City’s devastated northern region, people took to the streets waving Palestinian flags and capturing the scenes on their phones. Carts loaded with possessions navigated rubble-strewn roads, reflecting the heavy toll of war.
Ahmed Abu Ayham, a 40-year-old resident sheltering with his family in Khan Younis, expressed mixed feelings. "This ceasefire may save lives, but the pain is immeasurable. It’s a time for mourning, not celebration,” he said.
As the truce took effect, long lines of trucks carrying fuel and essential supplies queued at border crossings. The agreement mandates 600 truckloads of aid to enter Gaza daily, including 50 fuel trucks. Half of the aid is destined for the famine-threatened northern region.
The conflict, which began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israeli towns, has claimed more than 1,200 Israeli lives, with over 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, reducing Gaza to rubble, with nearly 2.3 million residents displaced. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also perished in the fighting.
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