Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Live Updates: First Hostages Return as Gaza Crisis Begins

As peace took hold Sunday in Gaza, potentially ending the century’s longest and deadliest war in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, two men used the same metaphor to describe their feelings.
“The weight on my chest has increased,” said Ziad Obeid, a Gazan civil servant who was fired several times during the war. “We survived.”
“The rock in my heart has been removed,” said Dov Weissglas, a former Israeli politician. “We want to see the hostages at home, period.”
Both men had a “but”.
Mr. Obeid has not seen his damaged home in northern Gaza for more than a year. Did you wonder how bad the damage was? Who will rebuild the demolished Gaza? And will Hamas still run it?
Mr. Weissglas is worried about the conditions of the hostages who will be gradually released over the next few weeks from the dark places in the area. And he was saddened by the exchange of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis. “There is relief,” he said, “wrapped in caution, fear and anxiety.”
It was an apt summary of the mood on both sides of the divide on Sunday, as Israelis and Palestinians expressed feelings of joy tempered by skepticism.
For the Palestinians, the deal is meant to provide at least six weeks without strikes in Gaza. That provides a window for Gazans to take the first steps towards reconstruction; finding relatives still buried in the rubble; and agreeing to the killing of more than 45,000 people, civilians and fighters, whose bodies have been counted by the Gazan health authorities. There were scenes of joy everywhere on Sunday, as rescue workers threw confetti; crowds danced and sang amid the rubble; and journalists have figuratively taken off their flat jackets.
In Israel, the agreement allows for the gradual release of 33 hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 – an attack that killed up to 1,200 people and sparked a devastating 15-month Israeli response. For captives released alive, that means freedom after 470 days of captivity. In Israel at large, many of whom suffer some form of survivor’s guilt, it provides a fitting catharsis. In the context of that feeling, friends of one of the first three hostages freed on Sunday were filmed jumping up and down in joy after hearing the news of his freedom.
But the details of the deal between Israel and Hamas mean that both sides still face a lot of uncertainty about how the next six weeks will play out, let alone whether the temporary arrangement will last forever. Even the first phase started hours late on Sunday morning, amid arguments over which hostages would be released in the afternoon. Meanwhile, according to Gazan authorities, Israeli strikes killed and injured more people.
Meanwhile, Israel also still controls most of Gaza and has yet to agree to a full withdrawal, preventing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, such as Mr. Obeid, to return to their homes in northern Gaza. It remains to be seen whether the Israeli military will leave entirely.
“What will happen after 42 days?” Said Mr. Weissglas. “Neither knows.”
The Palestinians are also unclear about the fate of several thousand Gazans who have been held incommunicado during the war and who may not be released during the upcoming trade deal. Reema Diab, a housewife in central Gaza, still has no way of finding her husband, a horse trainer, who she says was taken to Israel for interrogation in December 2023 and has never heard from him.
“I am relieved that the bloodshed is about to end, but my heart is aching,” said Ms. Diab. “His absence is unimaginable.”
Across the border, Israeli columnists chimed in, one, Ben Caspit, describing the combination of joy and sadness, “inextricably linked.” He wrote that Sunday was a day of accountability, not celebration, and emphasized that Israel will now need to accept the measure of its failure on October 7, 2023.
“Let us be silent for a moment, read our consciences, face the tragedy, think about those who were killed and killed and burned and raped and kidnapped,” wrote Mr. Caspit to Maariv, right. a daily newspaper.
The Israelis also fear that they will face up to 65 hostages who may not be released from Gaza if the deal collapses after six weeks. Similarly, there was widespread fear that the first 33 hostages to be released in the next 42 days could be emotionally or physically scarred, or even dead. And Israelis often complain that the hostages’ freedom will be secured in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, including convicted terrorists and youths who have never been charged.
Palestinians see the soon-to-be-released prisoners as freedom fighters and political prisoners. For Israel, it will be a shock to see “this series of murderers released,” Mr. Weissglas.
Videos of Hamas fighters triumphantly emerging from hiding were also a gut-punch for Israelis, who had hoped that the war would completely destroy the group’s military power. For many Gazans, it was a sight to be celebrated, but for others, it was a reminder of the ongoing uncertainty about Gaza’s future governance.
Mr Obeid works for the Palestinian Authority, which lost power to Hamas in Gaza 18 years ago but still employs other Gazan civil servants, including Mr Obeid, and now hopes to play a larger role in Gaza after the war. Mr. Obeid said that in recent days he has been in contact with the leaders of the authorities in the West Bank to organize cleaning and reconstruction activities in Gaza. He said it is unclear whether those efforts will take place with Hamas still in power for the next six weeks, and possibly beyond.
It is not clear when Israel will allow Mr. Obeid, who fled to Egypt last year after being expelled three times from Gaza, to return home.
But all that can be fixed in time, said Mr. Obeid.
For now, he said, “I can breathe oxygen again.”
Bilal Shbair contributed reporting from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, and Aaron Boxman in Jerusalem.
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