Ceasefire in force in Gaza three hours late

(Keystone-ATS) This implementation, on the eve of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, of the agreement concluded on Wednesday raises the hope of a lasting peace in the Palestinian territory, Israel having however already reserved the right to resume the weapons.

Under the agreement, the guns were to fall silent at 06:30 GMT (07:30 Swiss time), but citing Hamas’ delay in identifying the first group of hostages for release during the day, Israel carried out new strikes on Sunday Gaza which left eight dead according to local Civil Defense.

Hamas then announced that it had published the names of the three Israeli women released during the day, and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately announced the entry into force of the ceasefire at 9:15 a.m. GMT (10:15 a.m. Swiss time). .

Hamas had justified its delay by “complications on the ground and the continuation of the bombings”.

Early in the morning, many Palestinians in Gaza took to the streets to cheer the truce, appearing unaware of a delay, with some displaced already setting out to return home.

“We spent the night gathering our things and we were on the way home when we heard the sound of bombings,” testified Mohammad Baraka, a displaced person in southern Gaza, before the actual start of the truce.

Netanyahu’s warning

Achieved on Wednesday by the mediators – Qatar, United States, Egypt – under strong international pressure, the agreement ultimately aims, according to Doha, to lead to the “definitive end” of the war, triggered by the bloody attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.

But Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Saturday that it was “a provisional ceasefire” and that his country retained “the right to resume the war if necessary and with the support of the United States”.

Hostile to the truce agreement, the party of Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir (far-right) announced that it was leaving Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition, whose government nevertheless still retains a narrow majority in Parliament.

Under the terms of the agreement, hostilities must cease and 33 Israeli hostages must be released, in a first phase spread over six weeks.

In exchange, Israel must release 737 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, with Egypt reporting “more than 1,890” of them to be released during the first phase.

Three reception points for Israeli hostages have been set up on Israel’s southern border with Gaza, at the Kerem Shalom and Eretz crossings and at the one near Kibbutz Reim, a military official said. The captives will be taken care of by doctors.

“Breathe again”

Two Franco-Israelis, Ofer Kalderon, 54, and Ohad Yahalomi, 50, are among the 33 hostages who can be released, according to Paris. They were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with several of their children, released during an initial one-week truce in November 2023.

“When they cross the (Gaza) border and are reunited with their families, then maybe we can breathe again,” Shahar Mor Zahiro, nephew of a deceased hostage, told AFP on Saturday evening .

Israel designated 95 Palestinian detainees for release on Sunday, the majority women and minors, most of them arrested after October 7. Their release will take place after 2:00 p.m. GMT (3:00 p.m. Swiss time), according to the authorities.

Among the prisoners expected to be released is Zakaria al-Zoubeidi, responsible for anti-Israeli attacks and former local leader of the armed wing of Fatah, arrested and imprisoned in 2019.

Nearly 600 aid trucks

According to US President Joe Biden, the first phase of the agreement also includes an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas in Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid in the territory threatened by famine according to the UN.

Egyptian authorities specified that the agreement provided for “the entry of 600 aid trucks per day”, including 50 fuel trucks.

During the first phase, the modalities of the second will be negotiated, which should allow the release of the last hostages, before the third and final stage devoted to the reconstruction of Gaza and the restitution of the bodies of hostages who died in captivity.

The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people on the Israeli side, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 94 are still hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom are dead according to the Israeli army.

At least 46,899 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health deemed reliable by the UN.

Considerably weakened, Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, is however still far from being wiped out, contrary to the objective set by Benjamin Netanyahu, according to experts.