Palestinians In Gaza Erupted Into Celebrations After Hamas And Israel Agreed To A Ceasefire Deal
On oct. 9, Hamas And Israel agreed to phase 1 of Trump’s ceasefire deal.
Palestinians in Gaza have erupted in joy and celebrations following the announcement that Hamas and Israel had agreed to the first phase of the ceasefire deal by US president Donald Trump.
Hamas and Israeli delegations have been negotiating in Egypt to finalize a ceasefire deal with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkey mediators since Monday, Oct. 6.
On Thursday, Oct. 9, Trump made the announcement that an agreement had been reached on Truth Social, saying all Israeli hostages will be released “very soon” and Israel will pull its troops back to an agreed line.
He thanked mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey and called it the first step towards a “Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace”.
Qatar also confirmed on X that the two sides reached an agreement on the first phase.
The first phase includes immediate cessation of fighting if the two sides agree to the proposal, with all military operations being suspended.
Israeli forces will withdraw to an agreed-upon line to prepare for the hostage release, and Hamas will return all 48 Israeli hostages, both alive and dead.
In exchange, Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Palestinians it detained since Oct. 7, 2023.
For each dead Israeli hostage, Israel will release the bodies of 15 dead Palestinians.
Israel will allow humanitarian aid into Gaza in sufficient quantities.
The Rafah crossing will be opened in both directions once the agreement goes into effect, with Palestinian patients and the injured being transferred through the Rafah crossing to Egypt for treatment.
Some details, such as the full timeline of Israeli troops’ withdrawal, Gaza governance after the war and the conditions around Hamas’ disarmament are still being negotiated.
The next stage involves creating an international body called the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump, that will oversee Gaza’s administration after the war.
Israel and Hamas officially signed the deal on Thursday at 12 pm local time.
However, Israel did not stop its attacks on Gaza, saying the deal will not go into effect until the Israeli cabinet approves it, which is supposed to convene on Thursday evening.
Ikran Dahir
Kassy Cho
Kassy Cho
