In a potential turning point after 15 months of devastating conflict, Israel’s security cabinet has approved a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that could finally bring an end to the Gaza war. The deal, which still needs to be ratified by the full cabinet, includes an exchange of dozens of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Under the first phase of the agreement, set to last 42 days, Hamas will release 33 hostages including children, women, and elderly individuals over 50. In return, Israel will free Palestinian prisoners at a ratio of 50 for each female Israeli soldier and 30 for other female hostages released.
The ceasefire will also allow Palestinians displaced from their homes to move freely in Gaza, which Israel has divided with a military buffer zone. Wounded Gazans are to be allowed to leave for treatment, and humanitarian aid deliveries will increase to 600 trucks per day, above the 500 that aid groups say are needed to stave off crisis in the battered enclave.
Hopes for an End to the Bloodshed
News of the breakthrough deal has raised cautious hopes that the immense death and destruction wrought by the war could finally be coming to a close. In the 15 months since Hamas attacked Israel and captured hostages in October 2023, sparking a massive Israeli retaliation, over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of Gaza’s infrastructure reduced to rubble.
On the Israeli side, around 1,200 people have lost their lives and 250 were taken captive in the initial Hamas assault. A previous ceasefire last November that freed 100 of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian women and children prisoners collapsed after just a week.
Prisoner Exchange Central to the Deal
The new agreement centers on a reciprocal freeing of hostages and prisoners to build confidence between the two sides. Israel has agreed to release Palestinian prisoners at fixed ratios in return for its captured citizens:
- 1 female Israeli soldier = 50 Palestinian prisoners
- 1 other female Israeli hostage = 30 Palestinian prisoners
- 1 male hostage over 50 = 3 prisoners serving life sentences
- Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, two mentally ill Israeli captives = 30 prisoners
This is a vital step on the path to upholding the basic commitment a nation has to its citizens.
– Israeli President Isaac Herzog
A Phased Approach to Build Trust
Recognizing the fragility of past ceasefires, the deal takes an incremental approach. The first 42 days will see a limited prisoner swap and increased humanitarian access to Gaza. Israel will withdraw from the buffer zone it imposed to cut the strip in two.
If the truce holds, the remaining living hostages would be exchanged in the second phase, along with more Palestinian prisoners. Israel would fully withdraw from Gaza, with the specifics subject to further talks.
The final stage would address exchanging the bodies of the deceased and launching a reconstruction plan for Gaza. However, longer-term questions like the governance of Gaza remain unresolved, with disputes over restoring Palestinian Authority control.
Hurdles Remain, But Hopes Are High
The last-minute threat by far-right Israeli cabinet members to block the deal underscores the obstacles still in the way of ending the war. The Israeli high court will hear petitions against the agreement, though intervention is thought unlikely.
Nonetheless, the approval of the ceasefire by Israel’s security cabinet and Hamas’ agreement to its terms represent the most promising chance yet to halt the bloodshed. For the first time in over a year, Israelis and Palestinians have reason to hope that a return to some semblance of normal life could be on the horizon.
As the logistics are finalized and the first phase gets underway, the world will be watching to see if, this time, peace can take hold. The alternative – a return to the horrors and deprivations of war – is too awful to contemplate.
