New Delhi:
Fifteen months after the war in Gaza began, a 42-day ceasefire comes into effect today. While the ceasefire announcement has brought hope to many in the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tel Aviv had American support to return to war if necessary.
Here are the top 10 points of this big story:
- During the 42-day ceasefire, Palestinian militant groups will hand over 33 Israeli hostages and Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
- The ceasefire is mediated by Qatar. “As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Sunday,” Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said .
- Israel continued to attack Gaza on the eve of the ceasefire. At least five members of a family were killed in an attack on their tent in Khan Yunis, according to Gaza's civil defense. Yemen's Huthi rebels launched rockets at Israel in a show of support for the Palestinians.
- This would be the second ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Previously, a week-long ceasefire in November 2023 had led to the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people hostage. According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-held territory, the Israeli counterattack destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,899 people, most of them civilians.
- In his remarks ahead of the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Tel Aviv has “changed the face of the Middle East” since the start of the war in Gaza. He added a warning: “If we are forced to resume the war, we will do so by force.”
- Hamas, however, said Israel “has failed to achieve its aggressive objectives” and “has only succeeded in committing war crimes that shame the dignity of humanity.”
- The Gaza ceasefire will come into effect on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as US president for a second term. Yesterday, Trump spoke about the situation in Gaza in a show on NBC. He said he had told Netanyahu that the war “must end.” “We want it to end, but we have to keep doing what needs to be done,” he said.
- According to an AFP report, mediators had been trying to reach a consensus for months, but nothing moved until Trump's inauguration approached. In an unusual combination, outgoing President Joe Biden's point man Brett McGurk was joined by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to finalize the deal, US officials said.
- Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has completed preparations “to assume full responsibility in Gaza” after the war. Israel has not expressed a clear position on post-war governance other than rejecting any role for Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
- Displaced Gazans, meanwhile, are eager to return home. “I am going to kiss my country,” said Nasr al-Gharabli, who fled Gaza City for a camp further south. “If I die on my land, that would be better than being here as a displaced person.”
