- Hamas and Israel have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire agreement leading to the release of at least 1,700 Palestinian prisoners and all Israeli hostages.
- Humanitarian corridors will open as part of the deal with the UN and aid agencies announcing that they will scale up aid.
After an unprecedented acceptance of Hamas negotiations by the United States, shocking Israeli leaders, ministers and pundits, Hamas and Israel have agreed to the first phase of the ceasefire deal, immediately reducing food prices in Gaza.
Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya has said he has received guarantees from the United States and mediators that the first phase of a ceasefire deal that was agreed with Israel will lead to a lasting and permanent end to the war.
As part of the deal Hamas will release 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for 1,700 Palestinian hostages who were arrested since the genocide began along with 250 Palestinian hostages serving life terms in Israeli prisons along with the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors under UN and Red Crescent supervision.
Al Hayyah said: “We have received assurances from the brotherly mediators and the US administration, who have confirmed that the war is completely over.”
Unresolved Issues
Israel is due to withdraw out of all major cities in Gaza to allow for Hamas to locate and retrieve the Israeli hostages, as part of Phase 1 Israel will retain control of 58% of Gaza but will not occupy the Netzarim corridor, meaning Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza can return.
After phase 1 is completed, it remains unclear the final maps of Israeli withdrawal lines and how much exactly they will withdraw by.
Furthermore, there is nothing to guarantee the enforcement of future phases nor is it clear who will control and govern Gaza after the ceasefire.
Muhanad Seloom, a political analyst at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says he doubts the Trump plan will reach the second phase after the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.
He spoke to Al Jazeera and said: “This will be a test for American President Trump, if he will be the real guarantor that Arab states will [be able to] rely on.
“Will Netanyahu and President Trump see this through? I doubt it, but I hope that it will happen.”
How has Israel reacted to the ceasefire agreement
After President Trump confirmed the ceasefire deal after a call with Netanyahu, Israeli ministers met in a cabinet meeting to discuss the ceasefire agreement and were delayed by 90 minutes with Israeli media citing the issue of Palestinian prisoners as being a contentious topic for the Israeli Prime Minister to discuss.
Israeli Minister of National Security, Ben Gvir has not been discreet regarding the deal and said on X: “In conversations that took place between me and the Prime Minister in recent days, I clarified that under no circumstances will I be part of a government that allows the continued existence of Hamas rule in Gaza. This is a glaring red line.
“The Prime Minister committed to me that this is how it will be. I told the Prime Minister, and I am telling you too, citizens of Israel: I will not lend a hand to any case of deception.
“If Hamas rule is not dismantled, or if they just tell us that it has been dismantled while in practice it continues to exist under another guise—Jewish Power will dismantle the government.”
It must be noted that the United States acceptance of Hamas’s proposals in negotiations regarding the deal caught Netanyahu by surprise with Axios reporting that in a phone call between Trump and Netanyahu that the Israeli Prime Minister said the proposal is: “Nothing to celebrate, and that it doesn’t mean anything”.
Trump’s response in the call was that he told Netanyahu that the Prime Minister had “no choice” but to go along.
The Guardian also reported that Trump had put pressure on Netanyahu rather than being a fully mutual certainty going in.
The Guardian also reported that Trump had put pressure on Netanyahu rather than entering the talks with full mutual certainty. The paper also described Trump as “a juggernaut”
The Guardian also calls Trump “a juggernaut” in pushing Netanyahu and others to accept terms they had previously resisted.
What has the reaction been in Gaza since the ceasefire announcement
Food prices are already starting to fall in Gaza with news of the ceasefire, according to the charity Christian Aid.
One of the charit’s consultants who is in the besieged enclave said: “The prices of goods have started to go down and down. For example, a sack of wheat flour is 30 shekels [$9], which is unbelievable.”
Two weeks ago, a 25kg (55lb) bag of flour cost 100 shekels ($29) according to research conducted by the charity in Khan Younis on 27 September.
Hamas leaders have also responded positively to the news announcing the deal as marking the end of the brutal two-year genocide. The situation in Gaza is still catastrophic with famine in full force.
The UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher has called for an end of the famine and announced that the United Nations is ready to scale up their aid.
He said: “Given the level of needs, the level of starvation, the level of misery and despair, will require a massive collective effort, and that’s what we’re mobilised for.
“We are absolutely ready to roll and deliver at scale.”
The World Health Organization has also announced that they are willing to scale up aid entering Gaza.
The ceasefire deal announced by President Donald Trump marks the first time in months that U.N. officials have been hopeful about their ability to scale up deliveries of aid after two years of genocide.
The Palestinian people in Gaza have reacted to the ceasefire deal with joy and hope.
Gaza resident Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo said: “Thank God for this ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing … all of Gaza is happy.”
“These are the moments that are considered historic, long-awaited by Palestinian citizens.”
Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, Hani Mahmoud, speaking to Al Jazeera, said there has been a collective sigh of relief among the enclave’s embattled population.
He said: “This is a historic moment – and on a personal note, such a relief”.
