The Government of Israel announced this Friday the entry into force of the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, which triggered tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians to begin returning to their homes amid devastation and expectations about an uncertain future.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian factions that have fought against Tel Aviv rejected the strip being governed by foreign authorities, something that has been handled in plans and negotiations to end the war.
As the displaced return to their places of residence, many are faced with the reality that their homes have been destroyed, adding emotional weight to the already complicated situation in the region, beset by hunger, unhealthiness and disease amid a health system destroyed by the occupiers.
The Civil Defense spokesman for the Palestinian enclave stated that approximately 200,000 people returned to northern Gaza on Friday.
Ameer Abu Iyadeh, a 32-year-old displaced person, told the French agency AFP in Khan Yunis that this return is “full of wounds and pain.”
“I just pray that [mi casa] has not been destroyed (…). We just hope that the war ends once and for all,” said Mohamed Mortaja, 39, as he headed to Gaza City.
Other testimonies showed the joy of Palestinians at being able to return to their homes and the hope that the agreement between Israel and Hamas can be sustained and bring stability to the strip.
Documented and uncounted victims
Meanwhile, the Gaza Civil Defense has begun to remove bodies from the rubble in Gaza, which indicates the magnitude of the devastation left by the conflict, which so far totals more than 67,000 documented fatalities. It is estimated that at least several thousand dead lie unburied among the ruins of the enclave.
“Since the ceasefire came into effect in Gaza, 63 bodies have been found in the streets of Gaza City,” said Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for Civil Defense rescuers operating under the authority of the Hamas government.
Two years into the war, the humanitarian cost remains staggering. More than half a million people are “trapped in famine-like conditions,” while another million suffer from severe food insecurity.
Since January, 455 people — including 151 children, most under the age of five — have died from malnutrition, according to Palestinian health authorities. cited by the United Nations.
Dr. Hanan Balkhy, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Eastern Mediterranean, declared that Gaza’s health services have been “shattered” after two years of conflict and are “on the brink of total collapse.”
Reconstruction will cost more than $7 billion, according to WHO estimates, covering humanitarian response, early recovery and long-term reconstruction.
Palestinian resistance rejects any protectorate
For their part, the Palestinian factions Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine rejected yesterday in a joint statement any “foreign guardianship” over Gaza, stressing that its governance is a purely Palestinian matter.
Islamic resistance organizations, considered terrorists by Tel Aviv, were also open to Arab and international participation in the reconstruction of the enclave.
At the same time, Israeli media and analysts recognized the failure of the objectives declared by the occupation government of Gaza, and admitted the Palestinian movement Hamas as a political authority and military organization, despite two years of Israeli aggression. referred the chain Al Mayadeen.
Palestinian affairs expert Avi Issacharoff of the newspaper Yedioth Ahronothstated that after the ceasefire came into force, Hamas fighters are on the streets, armed, organized and with visible control of the territory, which demonstrates effective governance.
Along the same lines, the journalist and writer Haim Levinson highlighted Hamas as an organization, with a solid and disciplined structure, from A to Z, throughout two very hard years.
Levinson described the situation as “an established reality that the Israeli state must recognize,” reproduced Al Madayeen.
Hostage release process
The agreement stipulates the release of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas within 72 hours.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the departure of these prisoners from Gaza is expected to mark a “day of national joy” in Israel.
Netanyahu, who is accused of practicing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, declared that of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, 20 are alive and 28 have died.
The agreement with Hamas stipulates that Israel must release 250 security detainees and 1,700 Gaza Palestinians arrested by occupying forces since October 2023.
The list that Israel published this Friday of the 250 prisoners who could be exchanged does not include any of the emblematic figures of the Palestinian armed struggle, including Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti, 66, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, imprisoned since 2002 and accused of murder.
Putin, Erdogan and Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his support for the creation of a Palestinian state as an essential condition for achieving lasting peace in the region. At a recent conference, Putin highlighted the need for a multilateral approach that includes all relevant actors, suggesting that the solution to the conflict cannot be unilateral.
His Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also expressed his support for the ceasefire agreement and emphasized the importance of ensuring that Israel’s cessation of hostilities promises are fulfilled. The Ottoman leader pledged to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, showing an active interest in the reconstruction process.
For his part, Donald Trump confirmed this Friday his intention to travel to Israel and Egypt in an effort to consolidate the ceasefire agreement. This trip is seen as an attempt to oversee the release of hostages and coordinate efforts to rebuild Gaza.
Trump expressed confidence that the deal will hold, suggesting the sides are tired of the fighting. During his visit he must meet with Israeli and Arab leaders to discuss the future of the region, and the role of his Government in the current peace process.
The participation of the United States, which at no time stopped providing millions in military and logistical assistance to Israel, is seen as crucial to guarantee that the agreement is effectively implemented by Tel Aviv, which also emerged exhausted from the war.
In an interview granted to Israel News 24thReserve General Isaac Brik estimated that Trump saved Israel at the last moment and called it a miraculous event.
“If the war had continued it would have been a death trap,” recalled the soldier, who agreed with the assessments of the Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir, by previously recognizing the inability of the Israeli army to defeat Hamas or release the prisoners by force..
