Israel and Hamas ceasefire takes effect in Gaza
Ceasefire begins in Gaza as Hamas released three Israeli hostages in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners in the first phase of the ceasefire deal that started in January 19th per Reuters.
The ceasefire puts an end to the 15-months destruction campaign carried out by the IDF, allowing relief trucks to finally enter the land strip with much-needed aid.
This allowed Palestinians to return to their neighbourhood, often razed to the ground, from the vast tent cities where they found refuge in the south, as 90 percent of the population was displaced during the conflict according to BBC.
Some Palestinians took over the streets waving the national flag to celebrate the truce in improvised parades, as Hamas officers emerged from their hiding among them.
In Tel Aviv, the crowd gathered outside the defense headquarters where a live broadcast showed the three female hostages being released by Hamas and getting into red cross vehicles.
In the meantime, Palestinian prisoners were welcomed by a cheering crowd in Ramallah. They include 69 women and 21 teenage boys from Jerusalem and the West Bank according to Hamas.
The exchange of prisoners is part of the first six-week phase of the US and Qatari-brokered ceasefire.
It involves the releasing of some of the Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of the Israeli military forces from Gaza’s populated area, and the end of the blockade on humanitarian aid.
The first phase of the truce entered in effect after a three-hour delay during which Israeli warplanes and artillery shelled Gaza killing thirteen, in response to Hamas’s delay in providing names of hostage to be freed says Israel. Hamas attributed the delay to “technical field reasons”.
Despite the approval of the ceasefire by the Knesset and the Israeli cabinet, Netanyahu has said Israel retains the right to resume war should the second phase of the agreement collapse.
According to France 24, a recent Lancet study has placed the death toll in Gaza to 64,260, 40 percent higher than Gaza’s health ministry latest estimates.
Reuters, BBC, France 24
