The ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages that had been agreed between Israel and the Hamas group were officially started this Sunday (19).
See the main events here:
Start of ceasefire: The ceasefire in Gaza has been in effect since Sunday morning. The start was delayed for almost three hours after Israel declared that Hamas had not provided the names of the first three hostages to be released. The Palestinian group reported a “technical delay”. At least 19 Palestinians were killed this Sunday before the start of the truce, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.
Freed hostages: Hamas reported the release of Romi Gonen, 24 years old; by Doron Steinbrecher, 31; and Israeli-British citizen Emily Damari, 28. They were handed over to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff in Gaza and transferred to Re’im, in southern Israel.
Hospital treatment: The three women – held captive for 471 days – are in good health, according to Red Cross staff, but are being monitored at Sheba Medical Center, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Staff at the hospital and the Israeli Ministry of Health will provide an update soon.
Palestinian prisoners: In exchange for the three freed hostages, Israel must release 90 Palestinian prisoners. Large crowds gathered outside Ofer Prison in the West Bank.
Gazans return home: The truce – the second in 15 months of fighting – allowed many Palestinians displaced in Gaza to return home. Drone images from CNN showed people in Gaza walking through streets littered with building debris. Aerial photos showed the scene of destruction in the north of the Strip.
Humanitarian aid: When the ceasefire came into force, the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency said it had 4,000 aid trucks ready to enter Gaza. Trucks from the World Food Programme, another UN body, entered the enclave shortly after the truce began.
In addition to these points, there were also political repercussions. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that “it is a very emotional day“, and that the hostages have gone “from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom”.
Despite the prime minister’s positive tone, other political figures expressed dissatisfaction with the beginning of the ceasefire. Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, announced that he resigned from his position due to the agreement made with Hamas. Ben Gvir further declared that the remaining hostages in Gaza should be released “by the use of force” and “by stopping humanitarian aid, not by surrender”.
In addition to Ben Gvir, two other ministers – Yitzhak Wasserlauf, from the Ministry of Galilee and National Resilience, and Amichai Eliyahu, from the Ministry of Heritage – also resigned. Three other party members also “sent letters of resignation from their positions on various committees” of the Israeli parliament, all in light of the ceasefire agreement.
On his last day in government, United States President Joe Biden took the opportunity to make some comments about the agreement during a press conference.
“The deal I first presented last May for the Middle East has finally come to fruition. The ceasefire went into effect in Gaza, and today we are seeing hostages being freed, three Israeli women held against their will in the dark tunnels for 470 days,” Biden said.
He also thanked President-elect Donald Trump’s team for their collaboration in putting together the agreement.
“I was pleased to have our team speaking as one voice these past few days,” Biden said. “It was necessary, effective and unprecedented, but success will require persistence and continued support for our friends in the region, and a belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence.”
What comes now?
In the first phase of the agreement, more than 30 Israeli hostages in Gaza will be released. In return, Israel is expected to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. With the second and third phases of the truce uncertain, there are no guarantees that Israel will not resume bombing Gaza.
This content was originally published in See the main events after the first day of the ceasefire in Gaza on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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