End of Gaza war and release of hostages begins By Reuters

By Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) – A cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will come into effect on Sunday morning with the release of hostages to follow hours later, paving the way for an end to the 15-month conflict that has engulfed the country. . Middle East.

The deal followed months of fruitless negotiations by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and came ahead of the January 20 inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

The three-step ceasefire will come into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday.

Its first phase will last six weeks, during which 33 of the 98 remaining captives – women, children, men over 50, sick and wounded – will be released for prisoners and prisoners about 2,000 Palestinians.

They include 737 male, female and juvenile prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that have killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza who were has been locked up since the start of the war.

The three captured women are expected to be released on Sunday afternoon by the Red Cross, in exchange for 30 prisoners each.

After the release of the detainees on Sunday, the chief US spokesman Brett McGurk said, the agreement calls for the release of four more detainees after seven days, and then the release of three more detainees every seven days thereafter.

US President Joe Biden’s team worked closely with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to push the deal over the edge.

As his inauguration approached, Trump reiterated his call for an early deal, warning repeatedly that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released.

GAZA AFTER THE WAR?

But what comes next for Gaza remains unclear in the absence of a comprehensive agreement on its post-war future, which will require billions of dollars and years of reconstruction work.

And while the stated goal of a ceasefire is to end war altogether, it can be easily resolved.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, has survived despite losing its top leadership and thousands of fighters.

Israel has vowed not to allow Hamas to return to power and has cleared large areas inside Gaza, in a move seen as a move to create a buffer zone that will allow its troops to operate freely against threats in the area.

In Israel, the return of the hostages could reduce public anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government over the failure of the Oct. 7 which led to one of the deadliest days in the country’s history.

But hardliners in his government have already threatened to resign if the war against Hamas does not begin, leaving him squeezed between Washington’s desire to see the war end, and his far-right political allies. away from home.

And if war breaks out, many hostages could remain in Gaza.

AWAKENING IN THE MIDDLE

Outside of Gaza, the war has sent tremors across the region, sparking a war with Tehran’s Lebanese Hezbollah movement and bringing Israel into direct conflict with its arch-enemy Iran for the first time.

More than a year later, the Middle East has been transformed. Iran, which has spent billions building a network of militant groups around Israel, has seen its “Axis of Resistance” destroyed and unable to inflict more than minimal damage on Israel in attacks. two big arrows.

Hezbollah, whose massive missile arsenal was once seen as a major threat to Israel, was subdued, with its top leadership killed and most of its missiles and military facilities destroyed.

After that, Assad’s decades-long regime in Syria was toppled, removing Iran’s biggest ally and leaving Israel’s military unopposed in the region.

But on the negotiating side, Israel is facing anger and isolation over the death and destruction in Gaza.

Netanyahu faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on war crimes charges and separate genocide charges at the International Court of Justice.

Israel has reacted angrily to both cases, rejecting the allegations as politically motivated and accusing South Africa, which brought the first ICJ case along with its acceding countries, of impeachment.

The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in southern Israel where 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken into captivity, according to Israeli figures. Since then, more than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the war in Gaza.

Israel’s 15-month campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 47,000 Palestinians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, and has left a narrow strip of coastal and desolation.

Health officials say most of the dead are civilians. Israel says more than a third are fighters.