*Netanyahu, Starmer, WHO Chief Welcome Deal
ISRAELIS and Palestinians rejoiced on Thursday, October 9, after a ceasefire and hostage deal was announced under the first phase of the initiative of United States (US) President, Donald Trump, to end the war in Gaza.
The enemies both publicly endorsed the deal and had been expected to sign it around noon in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh (0900 GMT), though there was no immediate official confirmation that the signing had taken place.
Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase, an agreement that would see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the entry of aid into Gaza.
Israel’s government will meet later on Thursday, and if it formally approves the deal, a ceasefire will go into effect.
After then, all the remaining Israeli hostages would be released on Monday. Hamas has confirmed the deal, but a Palestinian source told the BBC it had not yet received the final list of prisoners that Israel plans to release in exchange.
As the news broke, Palestinians and the families of Israeli hostages broke into wild celebrations on Thursday after news of a pact between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza and return home all the Israeli hostages, both living and dead.
In Gaza, where most of the more than two million people have been displaced by Israeli bombing, young men applauded in the devastated streets, even as Israeli strikes continued in some parts of the enclave.
“Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing,” said Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
“I am not the only one happy; all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed. Thank you and all the love to those who stood with us.”
In Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostages Square, where families of those seized in the Hamas attack that sparked the war two years ago have gathered to demand the return of loved ones, Einav Zaugauker, mother of a hostage, was ecstatic.
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t explain what I’m feeling … it’s crazy,” she said, speaking in the red glow of a celebratory flare.
“What do I say to him? What do I do? Hug and kiss him,” she added, referring to her son, Matan.
“Just tell him that I love him, that’s it. And to see his eyes sink into mine … It’s overwhelming, this is the relief.”
Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to the first phase of peace plan proposed by Trump for the Palestinian enclave, a ceasefire and hostage deal that could open the way to ending a bloody two-year-old war that has disrupted the Middle East.
“I have no words to describe it,” said former hostage, Omer Shem-tov, when asked how the moment felt.
Just a day after the second anniversary of the cross-border attack by Hamas militants that triggered Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded a deal on the initial stage of Trump’s 20-point framework for peace.
Circles of young men in the streets of Gaza applauded the news, one of them clapping as he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a friend.
People in the enclave wept and chanted, “Allahu Akbar” or “God is Greatest,” voicing hopes that the deal would end the war and let them return to their homes.
“I couldn’t stop laughing and crying,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a businessman displaced from Gaza City. “I can’t believe that we have survived.
“We can’t wait to go back to our homes, even after they were destroyed, go back to Gaza City, sleep without the fear of being bombed, try to rebuild our lives,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
Others despaired about returning since Israeli forces will stay in the enclave for now. “Our house was among the first to be destroyed, so even if the war is over, we will remain living in tents, maybe for years until they rebuild Gaza, that if the agreement holds,” sid Zakeya Rezik, 58, a mother of six.
While happy that none of her children was killed, she added their home was in a border area that would stay under occupation.
The media office of the Hamas-run Gaza government urged people not to return to home areas until the agreement was officially detailed, so as to stay out of areas Israel still controls.
The Israeli military also warned residents of northern Gaza not to return, saying on X that it remained a “dangerous combat zone.”
If fully adopted, the accord would bring the two sides closer than any prior effort to halt a regional war that drew in neighbours Iran, Lebanon and Yemen, deepened Israel’s international isolation and changed the Middle East.
Gaza authorities said over 67,000 people had been killed and much of the enclave flattened since Israel began its military response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage back to Gaza, according to Israeli officials, with 20 of the 48 hostages still held believed to be alive.
“These are moments … long awaited by Palestinian citizens after two years of killing and genocide,” said Khaled Shaat, a Palestinian in the city of Khan Younis.
A source within Hamas told AFP the group will exchange 20 living hostages all at the same time for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal’s first phase, with the swap to happen within 72 hours of its implementation.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, has welcomed the ceasefire agreement, describing it as a significant step toward lasting peace in the Middle East.
In a post on his X handle on Thursday, Ghebreyesus expressed hope that all parties would respect the terms of the agreement to end the suffering of civilians and ensure the safe return of all hostages.
“I welcome @POTUS’s announcement about the ceasefire in #Gaza and hostage release, it is indeed a big step towards lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
“I hope all parties will respect the agreement, so the suffering of all civilians finally ends and all hostages are brought home respectfully.
“WHO stands ready to scale up its work to meet the dire health needs of patients across Gaza, and to support rehabilitation of the destroyed health system. The best medicine is peace,” he wrote.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the agreement “a great day” for his country, while United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said it is a “moment of profound relief that will be felt around the world.”
Netanyahu’s office said the ceasefire would take effect once ratified by the Israeli government, which would convene after a security cabinet meeting scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Israel’s hostage Coordinator, Gal Hirsch, said the list of the Palestinian prisoners to be freed was still being worked out.
However, residents in Gaza reported a series of air strikes on Gaza City around the time it was due to be signed.
But the agreement still left many unresolved questions. Yet to be hammered out are plans to govern Gaza after the war, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel’s demands that it give up its weapons.
Netanyahu called the deal “a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.”
But far-right members of his coalition have long opposed any deal with Hamas. One, Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said Hamas must be destroyed once the hostages are returned.
He would not vote in favour of a ceasefire deal, although he stopped short of threatening to bring down Netanyahu’s coalition.
The deal received a chorus of support from Arab and Western countries which had watched multiple ceasefire efforts fail.
The next phase calls for an international body, led by Trump, and including former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to play a role in Gaza’s post-war administration.
Arab countries, which back the plan, said it must lead to eventual independence for a Palestinian State, which Netanyahu insisted will never happen.
Hamas rejects putting Gaza under international rule, and any role for Blair.
