Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire in Gaza

Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war. Israel will give up Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of hostages being held by Hamas.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. About 100 were released in late November 2023 during a pause in hostilities, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

The war has shattered Gaza’s infrastructure and displaced most of its population.

Health officials in Gaza say more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most of them civilians. President Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been working to broker this deal.

Dr. Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director of the McCain Institute, joined us to discuss.

“The problem is that Hamas and the Israeli government could not agree on terms, in the current situation, Hamas has been significantly weakened,” Dr. Farkas said.

She said this is not the end of the war however looking at a humanitarian perspective, the deal gives hope to the people and families who were affected by the hostages.

“This is a multi-phased cease fire. What does that mean? Well it means that you cease to fire, and then you conduct the exchange. So, the hostages will be released. We heard that there will be 33 released in the first time frame, which is 42 days,” Dr. Farkas said.

The number of Palestinian prisoners out of those 33 releases are unknown currently. During this release agreement, Dr. Farkas said diplomats said there are plans to to make a permanent solution to releasing individuals and rebuilding Gaza.

“The diplomats have spoken publicly about having Israeli defense forces move away, out of certain parts of Gaza, eventually out of Gaza. There is a disagreement still, an active disagreement between Israel and Egypt with regards to where the Israeli forces can be on that border of Gaza, that touches upon Egypt,” Dr. Farkas said.

Going forward, she said that the U.S. needs to fight against terrorism and for the Trump Administration “to eliminate the threat posed by Iran.”