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After 15 months of war, a ceasefire between the state of Israel and the group Hamas has begun. The deal was made to bring a full stop to the fighting and to return hostages held by Hamas. On October 7, 2023, Hamas killed 1200 Israeli citizens and captured 251 as hostages, bringing them back to Gaza. Israel responded with a massive counteroffensive in Gaza, killing over 47,000 Palestinians, a Hamas-run hospital says.
The ceasefire, announced on Jan 15, will be carried out in three stages.
The first stage will last 42 days, during which there will be a complete ceasefire. Hamas will release 33 prisoners consisting of women, children, and some older men and the sick, occurring not all at once but at regular intervals. Israel in turn will release some 1900 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces will leave populated areas, and displaced Palestinians will be permitted to return to their home neighborhoods. During this time, hundreds of aid trucks will come through Gaza daily. Israeli troops will stay in border zones in Gaza, such as the Philadelphi Corridor, but will leave the Netzarim Corridor, an area that divides southern and northern areas of Gaza.
Negotiations for the second stage will begin sixteen days after the beginning of stage one. Through these negotiations, it is expected that a permanent ceasefire is agreed to and put in place, and all remaining hostages in Gaza will be returned home in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners. Moreover, Israel should withdraw its armed forces completely.
The final stage will consist of the returning of bodies of deceased hostages, and the reconstruction of Gaza, which will likely take many years.
So far, Hamas has released seven hostages, all women, three of them civilians and four military. According to Israel, Hamas is holding 80 hostages, 55 alive and 35 dead. The hostages are released in public events, first delivered to representatives of the Red Cross, a neutral humanitarian organization working to alleviate the threats to health on both sides of the conflict, before being transported back to their families in Israel.
The prisoners held in Israel far outnumber the hostages in Gaza. So far, 90 prisoners were freed in the first wave, consisting mainly of people jailed for more minor crimes. In the second wave, 200 were freed, including many who were held at life sentences for serious offences including multiple murders. Many in the first wave and some in the second were held in jail without trial, a move by Israel called “administrative detentions,” widely criticized by human rights watchdogs. These prisoners are sent primarily to Israeli-occupied territories such as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, though some prisoners were sent to Gaza. Roughly 70 people have been deported for their serious criminal offenses. Israel has stated that no one involved in the Oct 7 attacks will be released.
The conflict has devastated Gaza and its people. Aid lorries were not able to come into Palestinian territory at the same rate they could before the war, and many Palestinians are in desperate need of such basic necessities as food, water, and shelter. As part of the ceasefire agreements, 600 lorries will now be allowed daily, hopefully alleviating some of the food and water shortages. According to the World Food Programme, at its worst 90% of Palestinians are facing acute food insecurity.
During the war, Israel’s devastating offensive bombing campaigns over Palestinian land displaced nearly every citizen, and constant orders for mass evacuations have left people in dire situations. Following the ceasefire, many Palestinians are returning to their homes, particularly in the north, but only through special routes, and the journey is still highly dangerous as relations remain tense between Israel and Hamas and citizens are advised to avoid military zones.
Sadly, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of Palestians have begun returning to their homes, many have no homes to return to at all. Israel’s raids on densely populated residential areas have left significant parts of Gaza piles of rubble. Researchers at CUNY and Oregon State University have studied the damage using satellite imagery and have estimated that 60-70% of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed.
If the ceasefire proves successful, the next step in the region will be the herculean task of rebuilding Gaza. This process, expected to take years or even decades to complete, will likely cost an estimated $40 billion, according to the UN.
We can only hope that this ceasefire holds and further conflict is not ignited in this turbulent region.
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