Gaza Ceasefire: "To say that this is a historic achievement is an understatement..."
An uneasy calm may be taking shape in the Middle East after months of bloodshed - Israel’s cabinet prepares to approve a US-brokered truce that could see hostages freed and troops pull back from Gaza
The agreement reached by Israel and Hamas to exchange hostages and prisoners in the coming days is “a momentous breakthrough,” President Trump said on Thursday, hailing a deal he brokered that could pave the way to ending the devastating two-year war in Gaza. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Mr. Trump declared that “we ended the war in Gaza.” That was echoed later in the day by the chief Hamas negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, who said in a televised speech that Israel and Hamas had “reached an agreement to end the war and the aggression against our people.” Mr. Trump said he would travel to the Middle East this weekend, to attend a signing of the agreement in Egypt. He also said he had been invited to address Israel’s Parliament and intended to do so. Hamas will return the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza early next week, Mr. Trump said. “We are getting the hostages back on Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday,” he said. In return for the roughly 20 surviving hostages, and the bodies of about two dozen others, the agreement calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was meeting with his security cabinet on Thursday evening to begin the process of signing off on the agreement. Shosh Bedrosian, a government spokeswoman, said that a full cease-fire in Gaza would go into effect 24 hours after the government endorsed the deal. After that, Hamas would have 72 hours to return “all of our hostages,” Ms. Bedrosian said. As part of the agreement, Israeli forces would withdraw to lines leaving them in control of about 53 percent of the Gaza Strip, she added (watch my interview with Times Radio below, where I quantify what that means in terms of civilians remaining displaced). The initial agreement between Hamas and Israel addresses only a few of the 20 points in a plan Mr. Trump proposed last month, and some of the most difficult issues appeared to have been left to a future phase of negotiations. Those include who would rule postwar Gaza and whether, to what degree and how Hamas would lay down its weapons. As for providing security and rebuilding the devastated territory, Mr. Trump said, “I think you’re going to see some tremendous countries stepping up and putting up a lot of money.” Hamas called on Mr. Trump and others to compel Israel “to fully implement the agreement’s requirements and not allow it to evade or delay” carrying them out. Explosions and smoke rose from Gaza on Thursday morning, indicating that Israel’s military operations were continuing - NYT
At least 10 Palestinians have been killed and 49 injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, as world reacts to announcement of breakthrough in Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 67,194 people and wounded 169,890 since October 2023. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks and about 200 were taken captive - Al Jazeera
France has provoked Israeli anger by organising a meeting with Arab and European ministers in Paris on Thursday on the “day after” situation in Gaza, as ceasefire talks concluded in Egypt. The meeting addresses “the main parameters of the day after” in Gaza and how to establish co-operation, a French diplomatic source said. “These main parameters fall into three main areas: security, governance and reconstruction.” Among those scheduled to attend are Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, the EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, and foreign ministers from the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Overnight Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed the meeting had been “concocted behind Israel’s back” and described it as “unnecessary and harmful…We view this as yet another attempt by President Macron to divert attention from his domestic problems at Israel’s expense,” he said, as the French leader tries to salvage his government at home. “The participants may, of course, discuss whatever topics they wish — but there will be no arrangements in Gaza formulated without Israel’s consent.” Axios reported that Israel had urged the US not to take part in the meeting, saying it would undermine White House peace efforts. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, pulled out of a trip. French authorities said they had been in touch with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, “but bringing them together around the same table is not yet possible at this stage”, the French source said. Canada and Indonesia have also been invited - The National (UAE)
Tom Fletcher, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official, told reporters on Thursday that the United Nations had plans to deliver food and other supplies over the first 60 days of the cease-fire, with the aim to increase the supplies entering Gaza to “hundreds of trucks every day. It will do that by distributing rations, supporting bakeries and community kitchens, as well as helping herders and fishers restore their livelihoods, he said. It will also provide cash for 200,000 families for food, he said - NYT
🕊️ Watch: Michael Bociurkiw on Times Radio (UK)
As news broke today of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, I joined Times Radio in London to unpack what’s really behind this fragile agreement. Will it hold — or collapse under the weight of politics, pride, and unfinished business? And could this mark the moment when Donald Trump edges closer to his much-coveted Nobel Peace Prize, expected to be announced imminently? We also dive into the latest developments in the war in Ukraine and Canadian PM Mark Carney’s visit to the Trump White House yesterday.
🎥 Watch the full interview here → LINK
To say that this is a historic achievement is an understatement considering the severity of the Israeli war on Gaza and the number of those killed, injured, and displaced. The world should celebrate the end of the most horrific wars of the 21st century. But one needs to ask questions like if the US has so much leverage over Israel’s Netanyahu why Biden and later Trump did not intervene to stop the genocide much earlier? Of course, ending the war does not by any means end the suffering of over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. The humanitarian catastrophe will continue for months and even years. Over 90 percent of Gaza is in ruins. The majority of Palestinians have been displaced, some over a dozen times. And this is only the first phase of the plan. Many obstacles lie ahead. What future awaits Gazans remains a mystery. And how far will President Trump go in his commitment to deliver on his promises? What is also important is that ending the war should not obstruct investigations into war crimes and Israeli accountability. The two paths are separate and independent while affecting each other.
I think the war is over and there is no going back to what the world had witnessed in the past two years. But that does not mean that Israel will look for ways to blame the other side so as to free itself from its side of obligations under the Trump plan - Osama al Sharif, veteran journalist and political commentator based in Amman, Jordan (via The Media Connector)
French President Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister this week, likely ruling out snap parliamentary elections that threatened to drive the country deeper into political chaos. France has been mired in protracted budgetary deadlock, resulting in multiple governments being unseated. The outgoing premier — Macron’s seventh — told French television that a path out of the morass was “still possible,” but would be “difficult.” Though a definitive resolution still looks distant, the euro gained on the news. The longer-term ramifications of the entrenched crisis could be significant, though: “Deep disagreement about a societal project [creates] revolutionary situations,” a leading French historian told Le Monde. “Revolutions happen because the elites are not up to the task.” - Semafor
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The European Commission launched a probe on Thursday after several media reports alleged that the Hungarian secret services were trying to recruit EU employees in Brussels as informants. The agents, who reportedly posed as diplomats of the Hungarian Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels, are said to have targeted Hungarian staff at the European Commission, where sensitive files related to the country were prepared and discussed. The Commission said it took the allegations seriously and that it does its utmost to protect its staff and information from illicit intelligence-gathering activities. “We will be setting up an internal group to look into those allegations,” Commission spokesperson Balázs Ujvári said. Earlier, Hungary’s Direct36, together with German outlet Paper Trail Media and Belgium’s De Tijd newspaper, reported that Hungarian intelligence services were allegedly trying to recruit Hungarians working in EU institutions to build a network. According to the reports, one undercover Hungarian agent was also seconded to the European Commission, where he worked on security files and had access to sensitive data. - Euronews
Austria - which hosts the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - is backing the European Union’s latest Russia sanctions package, demanding the bloc unfreeze assets linked to tycoon Oleg Deripaska to compensate one of its banks, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg reported that Vienna wants the EU to lift restrictions on Rasperia Trading, a Deripaska-affiliated firm, so it can transfer a €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) stake in construction firm Strabag SE to Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International AG. The transaction, Austria says, would allow Raiffeisen to be reimbursed for €2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) in penalties it paid Rasperia due to a Russia court order. “Rasperia is sitting on the Strabag shares and the €2.1 billion is already in Russia,” Raiffeisen Chief Executive Officer Johann Strobl told reporters in Vienna Wednesday, referencing the fact that Rasperia is currently able to keep both its Strabag shares and the penalty payments. “There is a way to change that.” Austria was isolated on the issue during a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Many member states fear the move would create a precedent for other sanctioned individuals and entities, the people added.
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