Three hostages arrive in Israel from Gaza as fragile ceasefire passes first hurdle – National | globalnews.ca

The first three hostages freed from Gaza arrived in Israel, the army announced Sunday, hours after the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas took hold. Their mothers were waiting to meet them.

Footage showed the three women walking toward Red Cross vehicles in Gaza City, surrounded by a crowd that numbered in the thousands as people held cellphones and climbed into cars. The vehicles were accompanied by armed, masked men wearing green Hamas ribbons and struggling to guard the delivery.

All three women were taken for medical evaluation. “They appear to be in good health,” President Joe Biden said in brief remarks.

Footage released by Israel’s military showed them walking between the Red Cross and soldiers, and one of the women, Emily Damari, 28, then raised her bandaged hand in triumph. The military said he lost two fingers in the attack that sparked the war.

In Tel Aviv, thousands of people who gathered to watch the news on giant screens burst into applause. For months, many had gathered in the square to demand a ceasefire agreement. The women’s relatives jumped, applauded and cried.

“An entire nation embraces you,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were also released. Gonen was kidnapped at the Nova music festival, while the others were kidnapped at the Kfar Aza kibbutz. Damari has dual Israeli-British citizenship and Steinbrecher has Israeli and Romanian citizenship.

The ceasefire marks the start of an initial six weeks of calm and raises hopes for the release of nearly 100 remaining hostages and an end to the devastating 15-month war. A last-minute delay by Hamas delayed the start of the truce by nearly three hours, but the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing later said it is committed to the ceasefire.

Even before the ceasefire went into effect, celebrations broke out across Gaza and some Palestinians began returning to their homes.

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The next step was the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners later on Sunday. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, families and friends gathered enthusiastically as cars honked and people waved the Palestinian flag.

The truce, which began at 11:15 a.m. local time, is the first step toward finally ending the conflict and returning the hostages kidnapped in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

In the interval between the planned ceasefire and its entry into force, Israeli fire killed at least 26 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. He did not say whether they were civilians or combatants. The army has warned the population to stay away from Israeli forces as they withdraw to a buffer zone inside Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel’s hardline National Security Minister said his Jewish Power faction was resigning from the government in protest of the ceasefire. The departure of Itamar Ben-Gvir weakens Netanyahu’s coalition but will not affect the truce.

In another development, Israel announced that it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, in a special operation in Gaza. The bodies of Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, had remained after the 2014 war.

What’s next?

The ceasefire agreement was announced last week after a year of mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team had pushed for a deal before the inauguration on Monday.

Netanyahu warned on Saturday that he had Trump’s backing to continue fighting if necessary.

In the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, 33 hostages are expected to be gradually returned and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be released. The next hostage release is expected on Saturday.

There should also be an increase in humanitarian aid, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza daily, far more than Israel previously allowed. The U.N. World Food Program said trucks began entering through two crossings. Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, told CBS that 800 trucks were expected to be on the road on Sunday.

This is only the second ceasefire in the war, longer and more consequential than a week-long pause in November 2023, and with the potential to end the fighting forever.

Negotiations on the much more difficult second phase of the ceasefire are due to begin in just over two weeks. Major questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the first phase.

5:49
Humanitarian efforts resume in Gaza Strip

‘Joy mixed with pain’

Throughout Gaza there was relief and pain. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed large areas and displaced most of the population.

“This ceasefire was a joy mixed with pain, because my son was martyred in this war,” said Rami Nofal, a displaced man from Gaza City.

Masked militants appeared at some celebrations, where crowds chanted slogans in their support, according to Associated Press reporters in Gaza. Hamas-led police began deploying in public after being hidden due to Israeli airstrikes.

Some families returned home on foot, carrying their belongings on donkey carts.

In the southern city of Rafah, residents returned to find massive destruction. Some found human remains among the rubble, including skulls.

“It’s like watching a Hollywood horror movie,” said resident Mohamed Abu Taha as he surveyed the ruins of his family’s home.

Israeli forces were already withdrawing from some areas. Residents of Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya in northern Gaza told the AP they saw no Israeli troops there.

One resident said he saw bodies in the streets that looked like they had been there for weeks.

5:22
Biden says ‘the guns in Gaza have gone silent’ and aid begins

Israelis divided over ceasefire agreement

In Israel, people remained divided over the agreement.

Asher Pizem, 35, from the city of Sderot, said the agreement simply postponed the next confrontation with Hamas. He also criticized Israel for allowing aid into Gaza, saying it would contribute to the militant group’s resurgence.

“They will take their time and attack again,” he said as he looked out over the smoldering ruins of Gaza from a small hill in southern Israel with other Israelis gathered there.

When Biden was asked on Sunday if he was worried about Hamas regrouping, he said no.

huge toll

The toll of the war has been immense and new details will now emerge. The head of Gaza’s Rafah municipality, Ahmed al-Sufi, said much of the infrastructure, including water, electricity and road networks, was destroyed, along with thousands of homes.

More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children account for more than half of the deaths, but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants kidnapped about 250 more. More than 100 hostages were released during the week-long ceasefire in November 2023.

Around 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced. Reconstruction, if the ceasefire reaches its final phase, will take at least several years. Big questions about Gaza’s future, political and otherwise, remain unresolved.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press reporters Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Sam Mednick in Ramallah, West Bank, and Mohammad Jahjouh in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.