After over two years of war between Israel and Hamas, the first phase of a ceasefire deal went into effect on Oct. 11. This deal is a significant step in the direction toward peace for Israel and Hamas. The Trump administration played a crucial role in facilitating the deal by outlining its parameters. After multiple attempts at a ceasefire, this deal brings hope for a calm transition from war to peace.

According to the deal, the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages in Gaza were returned to their families, and the 28 remaining bodies of deceased hostages should have been returned to Israel in exchange for 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Force throughout Gaza.

According to abcnews.com, there was celebration throughout Israel when the living hostages were returned to their families.
Senior Associate Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi Victor Appell, told Hi’s Eye, “[The Jewish people] are incredibly relieved and grateful to have the 20 living hostages returned. We are so glad that they can be reunited with their families.”

Due to the parameters of the deal, Hamas was supposed to return the bodies of the 28 remaining deceased hostages. They only returned 12 bodies, 2 of whom have been identified as Nova Music Festival attendees. As a response to the violation of the agreement, Israel closed the Rafah border, a vital entrance in Gaza for aid to come in.

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said on the organization’s website, “This breach of Hamas’s commitment cannot be tolerated. Israel is right to stand firm on recovering all those who were abducted — including two American citizens — alive or dead.”

The deal also calls for significant humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza. According to apnews.com, the United Nations said that Israel allowed for 190,000 metric tons of aid, around 600 trucks per day.

Another aspect of the deal is to figure out a new way to govern Gaza. According to fdd.org, a committee of 15 anonymous Palestinians has been chosen to run post-war Gaza in conjunction with Israel, announced by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit.

President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan states that a “temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza,” will be put into place, as reported by bbc.com. The goal is a temporary, neutral administrative body to help rebuild Gaza until a more permanent political solution is established.

The goal of the peace plan is to establish peace between Israel and Hamas. The last point of Trump’s plan aims to “establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.”

WHS senior Haley Berger said, “I feel both sides will now be able to start recovering and look for a better coexisting future.”

Following the release of the living hostages, on Oct. 19, the Israeli military claims that Palestinian military personnel killed two Israeli soldiers, unprovoked, while operating in an area where the Israeli military presence was permitted. Hamas responded, “We are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.” Israeli Defense Forces then launched attacks on Gaza, killing 44 Palestinians, according to nytimes.com.

Despite the flare-ups over the past few days, both Israel and Hamas are “committed to maintaining the truce,” as reported by nytimes.com.