Israel-Hamas Ceasefire
March for Israel, Washington, DC USA. November 14, 2023. (Photo attributions: Ted Eytan) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
After 15 months at war, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement. This ceasefire agreement is the first break in the violence since the week-long truce in 2023 that ended on December 1st. Prior to the signing of the agreement, U.S. President Joe Biden said, “This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.” In the deal, Hamas will ultimately be releasing 33 of the Israeli hostages in direct exchange for 100 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel. Israel will also be releasing 1,000 Palestinian prisoners that were not involved in the attacks of October 7th. The Israeli Defense Forces will be withdrawing to the border of Gaza to allow for this transfer of prisoners and hostages as well as allow large amounts of humanitarian aid to be shipped into the zone.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement after hearing of the deal saying, “We, the families of 98 hostages, welcome home with overwhelming joy and relief the agreement to bring our loved ones home. We wish to express our profound gratitude to President-elect Trump, President Biden, both administrations, and the international mediators for making this possible.” On January 19th, three young women were released from Hamas captivity and returned to their families. Masked gunmen handed them over to the Red Cross in Gaza City Sunday evening while surrounded by a chaotic crowd of mostly men. The Sheba Medical Center received them later that night and reported that they were “in stable condition” after their transfer to the Tel Aviv hospital. Emily Damari, one of the three women, made a post on Monday saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m the happiest in the world just to be.” Later on, she posted a video where she proclaims, “Love, love, love. I have returned to my beloved life.” Her posts are signed with a “rock on” emoji which has become a symbol of resilience and resistance for the Israeli people after photos of Emily’s return were marked in time by her bandaged hand and two missing fingers from the October 7th attack. Four more young Israeli women were released a few days later.
With the return of these seven women to their families and loved ones in Israel, 290 Palestinian prisoners have been released back to Gaza, and many other Palestinian civilians are able to return to their communities since fighting has ceased and trucks of humanitarian aid are making their way into the territory. One young woman, Dania Hanatsheh, was dropped off into a sea of happy, chanting Palestinians as part of a group of 90 women and teenagers being brought home to Gaza. Dania states, “Palestinian families are prepared to be arrested at any moment. You feel helpless like you can’t do anything to protect yourself.” Around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners total are set to be released from Israeli prison over the course of the ceasefire, some of whom have been arrested for infractions like throwing rocks, and some who are convicted for the murders of Israeli citizens.
But what happens next?
After the first 42 days of the ceasefire have passed, all living hostages held by the militants are planned to be released, and eventually, the bodies of those that were killed on or since October 7th, 2023, will be sent home. Phases 2 and 3 of the agreement are set to start soon as well, but Israel has stated that they will decide how to proceed after Phase 1 is complete. There may be a slight impasse, as Hamas states they won’t hand over the remaining hostages until Israel removes all troops from the zone, and Israel will not agree to withdraw troops until Hamas’ military and political capabilities have been eradicated. Hamas has stated that they would be willing to step aside from sole governance of Gaza, but plans on holding a position in the government in the future. The situation is ongoing and both sides will have to uphold agreements and compromise with one another to put an end to the tragedies that are occurring.
By Samantha Weiner