The sounds of celebrations replaced those of explosions in the Gaza Strip on Sunday as a fragile truce came into effect after 470 days of war, allowing some hostages to return home to Israel, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel to be freed and displacing the Gazans are looking for what was left of their homes.
Under the terms of the acrimonious deal, fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas fighters stopped at 11:15 a.m., raising hopes for a more lasting end to a war that has plunged the Middle East into fear and uncertainty.
The first hostages – three women taken when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 – were released shortly afterwards. Early Monday morning, Israel’s prison service announced it had freed 90 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, where they were met by emotional family members.
At the same time, increased aid deliveries—over 630 truckloads in one day—arrived in Gaza.
Jubilant Palestinians honked cars and blasted music in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, where children ran through the streets. Israelis also celebrated as hostages began to return, with anxious families anticipating the release of even more.
But behind the relief was the knowledge that this phase of the ceasefire will last just 42 days and will only release some of the hostages, and that there are major diplomatic hurdles if it is to be extended. Israel and Hamas reached the deal in part by postponing their most intractable differences until a nebulous “phase two” that neither side is sure will arrive.
Almost as soon as the bombs stopped falling, masked gunmen and uniformed Hamas police came out of hiding and appeared on the streets of Gaza. The show of force was undeniable, proving that even after an overwhelming Israeli military campaign aimed at destroying Hamas, the militant group remains the dominant Palestinian force in Gaza.
On Saturday night, as the ceasefire neared, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reminded enemies and allies that the first phase of the deal was temporary and that Israel could return to fighting if talks on the next stage of the ceasefire broke down.
“We reserve the right to return to war if necessary with the support of the United States,” Mr. Netanyahu, whose coalition has been sharply divided by the ceasefire agreement, he said in a televised sermon.
However, whatever the anxieties in the coming weeks and months, there were moments of joy on Sunday.
One of the freed hostages, Emily Damari, was seen smiling and leaning out of the open window of a truck as she was taken to Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv. Ms Damari was last seen on the loose 15 months ago, when she was abducted from her home on a kibbutz in southern Israel. She had been shot in the arm and driven away in her own car, a fighter at the wheel.
A photo of Ms Damari released by the Israeli military on Sunday showed her still smiling, although two middle fingers are missing from her left hand. All three hostages were later reunited with their relatives, who cried and held them tightly after more than a year apart, according to footage released by the Israeli government. Their parents, siblings and friends had fought an international campaign for their freedom.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas is to gradually release 33 hostages and in return Israel will release more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, including some serving life sentences for brutal attacks on Israelis. Ninety of them – all women and minors – were due to be released on Sunday.
Friends of the three hostages freed on Sunday danced, sang and waved Israeli flags in the air as they gathered at a hospital helipad. Gal Kubani, 28, a friend of Ms Damari, said she was “proud” at the news of her release and “proud of Emily for surviving this madness”.
In Gaza, the celebration was tempered by sadness. More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. Vast areas of the enclave lie in ruins and many displaced people have no homes to return to.
Immediately after the fighting stopped, waves of displaced Palestinians began heading north, eager to see if there were still any traces of their homes.
Many people said they were determined to start reclaiming the lives they once knew, despite the massive devastation across the enclave. “The joy of returning home is overwhelming, but it is mixed with sadness,” said Ahed al-Okka, 52, a construction worker from Gaza City.
For others like Suhaila Dawaas, an IDP from Gaza who said she lost eight relatives in the war, grief overshadowed any hope for the future. Her home was mostly destroyed, though she hoped to find some reminders of the life her family once had in the ruins.
“I can’t say I’m happy about this truce,” said Ms Dawas, a 55-year-old mother of eight. “What are we left with after all? After the endless losses, destruction, pain?’
Drone videos taken in Gaza showed people falling in a desert. The dense neighborhoods of Gaza had been turned into concrete slabs, the streets turned to dust. With an untold number of bodies still trapped under the rubble, members of Gaza’s Civilian Emergency Service went to work.
The war began after Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, Israel says, and taking 250 hostages. About 100 hostages are still in Gaza, although about a third are believed to be dead.
Israel and Hamas both retained some of their bargaining chips. At the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas will still have about two-thirds of the hostages. And Israel will still occupy parts of Gaza and hold important prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, a militant leader and iconic Palestinian political figure.
On Sunday, UN trucks carrying humanitarian supplies began entering Gaza just 15 minutes after the ceasefire went into effect, according to Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN humanitarian office for the Palestinian territories. Months of lawlessness and restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries had reduced aid to a minimum.
Two convoys carrying packages of ready-to-eat food and wheat flour arrived in the enclave on Sunday, one through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southeastern Gaza and another through a crossing in the north, according to Martin Penner, a UN spokesman. World Food Programme. The ceasefire agreement calls for 600 trucks to be allowed to carry aid to Gazans daily, although it was unclear how the supplies would be distributed.
The ceasefire has already opened deep fissures in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister of national security, resigned in protest from the cabinet and withdrew his Jewish Power party from the coalition on Sunday. The Religious Zionist party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, has suggested it might do the same unless Mr. Netanyahu continues the war after the initial truce. Israel’s parliament, which could ultimately force the government to fall and force new elections.
Teams of diplomats representing both President Biden and President-elect Donald J. Trump played a major role in brokering the truce, and both men took credit for Mr Trump’s penultimate day in office. Biden.
In his statements in South Carolina, Mr. Biden defended his unwavering support for Israel, amid advice from some who had warned him it could drag the US into a wider war. “Abandoning the course I was on would not lead us to the ceasefire we see today,” he said.
The report was made by Adam Rasgon, Nathan Odenheimer, Ephrat Livni, Jonathan Rice, Gabby Sobelman, Myra Noveck, Vivian Y, Fatima Abdul Karim and Yan Zhuang.
