Day 1 of the ceasefire: Three Israeli hostages free, and ninety Palestinian prisoners

Three freed Israeli hostages and ninety freed Palestinian prisoners – these were the strongest signs of the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of uniformed Hamas fighters handed over three young Israeli women to the Red Cross in Gaza City. As soon as they were back on Israeli soil safely – and “in relatively good health” according to the Red Cross – the release of the Palestinian prisoners began. They were transferred in blacked-out buses, women and children first, from the Ofer prison on the border of the West Bank to Palestinian territory.

A two-hour and 45-minute delay had resulted in nineteen Palestinian deaths due to Israeli air strikes at the last minute on Sunday morning. Hamas had failed to transmit the three names of the first hostages to be released to the Israeli government in a timely manner. At a quarter past ten Dutch time, the warring parties actually laid down their arms. An initial assessment could then be made of a pause in combat that will end in six weeks.

Reporters on the border of the Palestinian territory saw that there were no longer plumes of smoke rising above Gaza, and that only drones were in the air. At half past ten, fifteen minutes after the ceasefire came into effect, trucks from aid organizations entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt via the Rafah and Kerem Shalom checkpoints. Six hundred trucks a day, that is the agreement. They brought food, water and fuel into the restricted Palestinian territory. The UN organization UNWRA announced on Sunday morning that four thousand shipments were ready, half of which consisted of food.

As soon as the ceasefire took effect, large numbers of displaced Palestinians returned to their homes – often finding them destroyed. From Khan Younis in the south they continued south to the almost completely destroyed Rafah, or to Gaza City in the north. They traveled through the streets with pick-up trucks or horse-drawn carriages, on bicycles or on foot. Some kissed the ground in front of the camera, but most seemed stunned and defeated by the scale of the destruction.

Dancing and singing

The initial reactions in both Israel and the Palestinian territories were positive. In Gaza, some Palestinians took to the streets dancing and singing. Among them were emergency responders and medical personnel.

At the ‘Hostage Square’ in Tel Aviv, Israelis celebrated the release of the first of the 33 hostages who will be transferred in small groups over the coming Sundays. Polls in recent days had shown that a sizeable majority of the Israeli population, ranging from 62 to 75 percent, is somewhat to very satisfied with the ceasefire.

In Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestinians crowded together awaiting the arrival of the released prisoners. The British newspaper The Guardian spoke beforehand with relatives of the detainees in East Jerusalem and noted that Israeli forces raided their homes on Saturday to confiscate flags and other Palestinian symbols. They are forbidden to publicly express their joy. In this way, Israel would try to prevent Hamas from interpreting the ceasefire as a victory.

Demonstration of power

If that was indeed the intention, then it failed. The armed branch of Hamas, in uniforms, with a green band on their helmets and face coverings, showed up emphatically and in large numbers at the release of the Israeli hostages. It was a demonstration of their ever-present military might. A reporter for the BBC in Gaza spoke to Hamas members and noted that they interpreted the very fact that Israel had to make an agreement as a victory.

“Israel had promised to eliminate Hamas, but now they were in the same building as Hamas leaders negotiating with them,” said a senior official quoted by the BBC. He admitted that the price paid by the people of Gaza is high. “But Israel has not been able to break the will of the Palestinian people or push them out of the land.” He spoke proudly of the October 7, 2023 terror attack, when Hamas fighters killed some 1,200 Israelis, as the “biggest military defeat for Israel.”

At least one Israeli political party agrees with the anonymously quoted Hamas fighter. On Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigned from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cabinet along with two fellow ministers from the same ultra-nationalist, anti-Arab party. According to him, the ceasefire is a victory for Hamas and would nullify the “achieved results of the war.” The coalition retains a small majority in parliament.

On the last day of his presidency, US President Biden spoke about the ceasefire and the “transformation” that the war had brought about in the region. According to him, the position of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran has been weakened by Israel.

He praised the “unprecedented” cooperation between his cabinet and the team of the incoming president. “But success will require persistence and continued support for our friends in the region, and a belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence.”

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