#gaza-ceasefire

#gaza-ceasefire

A ceasefire in Gaza has created a hopefully enduring-albeit uneasy-pause in the two-year Israel-Hamas war, with the recent exchange and release of hostages hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough even as questions continue to come about whether this truce will hold. That uncertainty matters across the Middle East because even a small slip up could quickly devolve the region back into chaos with militaries and generals at the table instead of diplomats.

The first five days of the ceasefire in the Strip, however, have been marked by a sense of deja vu, especially due to the unbalanced back-and-forth between Israel and Hamas over the return of the remains of the deceased hostages and the retaliation over the pace at which it is being carried out, which Benjamin Netanyahu's government considers insufficient and malicious.

"After 738 days in captivity, on October 13, all 20 surviving hostages were freed from the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas, with four German citizens among them," Merz said. "They're home. They're with their families. And that fills us, and me personally, with great joy and relief."

The peace deal that has been struck, which we welcome, will have no bearing on the case that is before the International Court of Justice, Ramaphosa told parliament. The case is proceeding, and it now has to go to the stage where Israel has to respond to our pleadings that have been filed in the court, and they have to do so by January of next year, he added.

As world leaders arrived in Egypt on Monday to celebrate the first stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal and discuss the next steps, there was a curious note of disharmony between the US and the UK. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, had appeared on the BBC on Sunday talking about the UK's key role in shaping the agreement only to be slapped down on X by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who called her delusional.

Despite concerns about United States President Donald Trump's proposed plan to end the war on Gaza, which calls for a transitional authority ultimately headed by the US leader, Jamal said there was an immense sense of relief. A sea of red and green, the colours of the Palestinian flag, formed along the embankment of the River Thames in central London, where the largely peaceful march began.

U.S. Central Command is reportedly establishing a "civil-military coordination center" in Israel, staffed with hundreds of troops, to monitor the newly implemented ceasefire in Gaza, U.S. officials have said. U.S. outlets have reported that the military is slated to send 200 troops to Israel for the effort, with some having already been sent. The troops are there, officials said, primarily to provide "security" support and to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The aid will include 170,000 metric tons that have already been positioned in neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Egypt as humanitarian officials awaited permission from Israeli forces to restart their work. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. In the last several months, the UN and its humanitarian partners have been able to deliver only 20pc of the aid needed in the Gaza Strip, according to UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

The Israeli army announced this at 12:00 local time, although according to the text of the agreement, it happened automatically earlier in the morning when Benjamin Netanyahu's government voted by a large majority to give the green light to the first phase of Donald Trump's peace plan. The troops have, in fact, already completed their partial withdrawal to a position from which they will still control half of Gaza,

Oil prices declined on Friday, after settling around 1.6% lower in the previous session, as the market's risk premium faded after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to end the war in Gaza. "Finally having some kind of peace process in the Middle East is lowering the shoulders a little bit," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB. This could ease fears about crude carriers passing through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, he said.

The first, extremely complicated and fundamental step has been taken. Representatives of Israel and Hamas have sealed an agreement based on Donald Trump's diplomatic initiative to halt the violence in Gaza, and the Netanyahu administration is expected to approve it on October 9. The prospect of its implementation represents an indescribable relief for Gazan civilians plagued by Israel, and it should be celebrated.

For the first time in a long time, Palestinian mother Wiam al-Masri can clearly recognise the cries of her infant son, Samih, who is not yet two months old. His soft wailing rises in the quiet air of al-Mawasi, in southern Khan Younis, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the peace plan brokered by US President Donald Trump to end the Gaza war largely halting Israeli air and artillery strikes and ushering in an unfamiliar calm.

Across Israeli society, the reaction to the news of a Gaza ceasefire deal has been almost uniform: Joy. In Tel Aviv, the families of those taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 celebrated on Thursday after the announcement. And a man dressed as United States President Donald Trump who played a large part in brokering the deal carried Israeli and US flags and posed for photographs with smiling passersby.

So, Joe, on the two sides of that, I can remember in the month or so after October 7, an Israeli senior official saying to me, we are so disoriented and traumatized by this war. The United States is going to have to make decisions for us. Joe Biden could never do that. And Donald Trump was able to do it.

Palestinians in a refugee camp celebrate after hearing news of the new Gaza ceasefire deal Photograph: APAImages/Shutterstock Israelis celebrate as they react to the news of the Gaza peace deal at Hostages Square Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images Internally displaced Palestinians celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel Photograph: Haitham Imad/EPA People in Hostage Square, Tel Aviv, react to news of a new Gaza ceasefire deal Photograph: Maya Levin/AFP/Getty Images