US President Donald Trump has announced that the aggressive attacks by Israel on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, have stopped and the war has ended. Trump made this announcement after Hamas released Israeli hostages under a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, the governing authority in Gaza, last week. This came after Israel also released a large number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Shortly after the prisoner exchange, Trump met with leaders of Muslim countries and Western nations in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss the future of Gaza. Representatives from 20 countries participated in the meeting. However, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates did not participate. Neither did Israel or Hamas.
Although Israel and Hamas have not yet decided on the next phases of the agreement, discussions on establishing regional peace were also held at the meeting. Egypt stated that the meeting included discussions on Gaza’s governance, security issues, and reconstruction. The United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey were involved in drafting the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. According to the agreement, Hamas released 20 hostages, while Israel freed about 250 Palestinian prisoners and around 1,700 people detained during the war. However, Israel has decided to deport many of these individuals to other countries, preventing their return to Palestine.
Over the past two years, 68,000 people in Gaza have been martyred in Israeli attacks. The entire Gaza Strip has been devastated and leveled to the ground in these attacks. As the first phase of the ceasefire progresses, Hamas has stated that they are facing difficulties in handing over the bodies of 26 Israeli hostages who died in their custody, as they are unable to locate the exact burial sites. While thousands of Gaza residents still face hunger, Tom Fletcher, the head of the UN’s humanitarian aid agency, has emphasized the urgent need to bring aid supplies into Gaza and provide immediate assistance to those in need. As major questions arise about Gaza’s future, there is still no agreement on how the area will be governed in the coming days. While Israel insists that Hamas disarm, Hamas maintains that they will not comply with this demand.
